News

26 December 2024
Contenders for the Zorginnovatieprijs 2025 Regional Preliminaries Announced! >
We are thrilled to be part of organizing the regional preliminaries for the Zorginnovatieprijs 2025, a prestigious award for AI scale-up companies in healthcare innovation.
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26 December 2024
AI in Healthcare: How Amsterdam UMC Embraces Innovation >
A key focus for Amsterdam UMC is the collection, storage, and sharing of reliable data, as quality data is essential for effective AI applications. In addition to internal efforts, Amsterdam UMC collaborates with regional partners to improve data quality and promote innovation. The applications of AI at Amsterdam UMC are diverse. For instance, a blood culture model can predict whether blood sampling is necessary in the emergency department, helping to prevent unnecessary treatments. In cardiology, an AI model identifies subtle abnormalities in heart scans (ECGs) that may indicate heart issues, guiding decisions about further testing, such as MRIs. To ensure patient data confidentiality, Amsterdam UMC has developed a secure AI sandbox . This environment provides a safe alternative to public platforms like ChatGPT, allowing for the development of AI tools while protecting sensitive data.These initiatives showcase how AI is transforming healthcare processes. Amsterdam UMC also invests in training its staff to utilize data and AI effectively in their daily work. Discover more about these groundbreaking advancements and watch the video here with examples.
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25 December 2024
Key Takeaways at Expert Session AI Act 2024 >
Featuring presentations by Floris Kreiken and Hans de Zwart
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7 December 2024
Booking.com in the top 3 of the Dutch R&D Top 30 >
Great news! Booking.com is now in the top 3 of the Dutch R&D Top 30, with nearly €420 million in R&D investments. Our significant contributions to research and development, including investments in AI, are making a substantial impact on the innovation strength of the Netherlands.
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6 December 2024
ELLIS Unit Amsterdam Hosts Third Annual NeurIPS Fest >
On November 28, 2024, the ELLIS Unit Amsterdam hosted its third annual NeurIPS Fest at LAB42, attracting 120 participants and showcasing 25 posters. Co-organized with the ELLIS Units in Nijmegen and Delft, the event brought together AI/ML researchers from across the Netherlands for a vibrant and collaborative gathering.
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6 December 2024
Advanced AI for Surveillance Robots >
At LAB42, their addressing tomorrow’s challenges today. One pressing question is: how can we tackle the growing staff shortage in security?
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6 December 2024
AI, Media and Democracy Lab: Why Bother with AI Transparency? >
Exploring Audience Perspectives on AI in Newsrooms. As generative AI becomes an integral part of journalism, questions about transparency have taken center stage. Should news organizations disclose their use of AI? And how would such disclosures impact audience trust? These questions were explored in recent research by the AI, Media and Democracy Lab at the University of Amsterdam, focusing on Dutch citizens’ attitudes toward AI-generated content.
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5 December 2024
Podcast Spotlight: Cees Snoek on AI Innovation and Amsterdam’s Role as an AI Hub >
In the latest episode of Snoek op Zolder, UvA professor Cees Snoek dives into the state of AI research and innovation in Amsterdam
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November 28
AI captures Wildlife in the Amsterdamse Waterleidingduinen >
Scientists from the Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics (IBED) at the University of Amsterdam are collaborating with Waternet on an innovative AI-driven monitoring system. This system uses smart cameras and species identification to map wildlife in the Amsterdamse Waterleidingduinen 24/7.
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April 4, 2025
UvA investigates AI’s influence on visual representations of gender >
What influence does generative AI have on visual representations of gender? An interdisciplinary UvA team is investigating this in collaboration with partners from the creative sector.
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23 March 2025
Why GPT Can’t Think Like Us >
Artificial Intelligence (AI), especially large language models like GPT-4, has made remarkable strides in reasoning tasks. However, a new study highlights the limitations in AI’s ability to truly understand abstract concepts, suggesting that it’s more about mimicking patterns than genuine comprehension.
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20 March 2025
Call for Participants: Help Test a New AI Powered Recommendation System for NEMO Kennislink! >
NEMO Kennislink, in collaboration with researchers from UvA, HvA, and CWI, is testing a new AI-powered recommendation system in the AI Media & Democracy Lab. We’re looking for enthusiastic participants to read NEMO Kennislink articles on their smartphone via a special test app for two months.
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March 18
Lemni secures €3.3M pre-seed funding for AI-driven customer interactions >
Amsterdam-based AI startup Lemni has officially launched, securing €3.3 million in pre-seed funding led by Sequoia Capital. The investment will help Lemni accelerate product development, expand its team, and scale its AI-driven customer interaction platform globally.
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March 11
Russian disinformation infiltrates AI chatbots on a large scale >
A NewsGuard audit reveals that the ten largest AI chatbots repeat disinformation from a Russian propaganda network 33% of the time. By systematically spreading false information, the Kremlin influences how AI systems process and present news.
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