The two speakers at left, with some interested audience members (photo Aram Arkun)

Shahbazian and Glorikian Address Developments in Artificial Intelligence at Tekeyan Boston Event

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WATERTOWN — News about AI (Artificial Intelligence) is nearly ubiquitous in the media due to recent advances and their practical applications in various fields. As AI rapidly becomes incorporated into many aspects of our lives, in what some deem to be a new and more expansive version of the Industrial Revolution, people can’t help but wonder what transformations lie ahead. The Tekeyan Cultural Association Boston Chapter sponsored a presentation on September 12 at the Baikar Building in Watertown by two specialists in different fields, Prof. Joseph Shahbazian and Harry Glorikian, to discuss these issues and touch upon related developments in Armenia.

Dr. Joseph Shahbazian (photo Aram Arkun)

Dr. Shahbazian is a physicist, medical engineer, author, inventor, and philanthropist, who has taught at Northeastern University, Wentworth Institute of Technology, and Bunker Hill Community College. The Shahbazian Charitable Foundation was founded in 2014 by the efforts of Shahbazian and Dr. Bella Margarian in memory of his beloved brother, Janson Shahbazian. The couple supported hundreds of pupils and students from the remote villages of Armenia since 2014 with computers, scholarships, and stationery. Furthermore, they have been supporting the students of schools in different regions of Armenia, such as Tavush, Martuni, and Ijevan, since the 1990s when they were still university students.

Harry Glorikian (photo Aram Arkun)

Healthcare entrepreneur and global business expert Glorikian, based in the Boston area like Shahbazian, is the author of The Future You: How Artificial Intelligence Can Help You Get Healthier, Stress Less, and Live Longer (Dering Harbor, New York: Brick Tower Press, 2021). The book was on the top ten list of Amazon.com best-sellers. Today, Glorikian is a general partner at Scientia Ventures, a venture capital firm focusing on promising tech companies using AI and big data to make diagnostic devices and new therapies, and serves on the boards of various companies.

Shahbazian’s Presentation

Shahbazian provided a general introduction, accompanied by slides, to the development of AI, starting with the coinage of the term at a conference at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire in 1956. He observed that there are some problematic effects of its spread evident already, such as job displacement. In just the last seven months, more than 12,000 people were laid off in the gaming industry, which is a booming field. Everything from entry level cashiers to English teachers are being affected. He also gave the example of how AI works dispassionately, imposing unbendable rules, unlike humans.

Yet there are many advantages. AI allows repetitive processes to be conducted with few errors, such as through robots. It can be used to conduct many tasks as a virtual personal assistant or provide customer service and even transportation.

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Shahbazian gave several examples of how AI can be used by ordinary people today, such as rapidly preparing a PowerPoint presentation through gamma.com. He showed some examples of applications of AI developed in Armenia, including by Picsart to create images, or Krisp AI, which is used for online meetings to cancel noise and create transcripts.

Glorikian

Glorikian also accompanied his talk with images. He pointed out how people already are using core old AI without perhaps being aware of it, for everything from Google searches to Netflix use AI in the background to make life easier. Two years ago, the introduction of ChatGPT with its chat-oriented interface significantly enhanced the accessibility and interactivity of AI.

In healthcare, Glorikian said that AI now is being used for many different applications, from robot assisted surgery to virtual nursing. Anything that is image-based can be studied through these AI systems. AI-driven predictive analytics in healthcare have demonstrated significant improvements in diagnostic accuracy, operational efficiency, and patient care by analyzing complex patterns in vast data sets. AI can point out new molecules and pathways for therapeutics much faster than ever before, though they then will still have to be tested in real life.

A study found ChatGPT to exhibit greater empathy towards patients than human physicians, so Glorikian revealed that now some medical schools tell their residents to check with ChatGPT before they reveal terrible news in order to find better ways of couching it.

Images, videos and music now can be created by AI programs. The advances in AI “are moving at a speed that human beings cannot comprehend,” Glorikian emphasized. “We are at a fascinating time. I beg you to play with this, fool around with it, and get to know it. If you are not playing with it, you are going to wake up one day and ask, what happened.” He later shared advice he gave his children: “learn how to learn,” emphasizing the need to adapt quickly in our fast-moving world. You can no longer learn one thing and expect to do it for the rest of your life.

Tekeyan Cultural Association of the US and Canada Executive Director Aram Arkun introduced the two speakers and served as the moderator of the evening event. A wide-ranging set of questions from the audience were answered by the speakers for over 20 minutes after they concluded their formal presentations, including about the use of the Armenian language, turning poems to music, legislation and ethics concerning AI, medical responsibility when AI is used, whether AI and IT are good career choices for the future, whether the future lies more in specialized uses of AI or more general large language models (LLM), usage in war, the race between US vs. China in AI innovation, and the dangers of AI used for manipulation or scams.

The two speakers with Tekeyan Cultural Association Boston members

The audience learned that Armenia is actively embracing AI technologies across various sectors, demonstrating a significant commitment to integrating these advancements into its national capabilities. The establishment of the Armenian National Supercomputing Center is a key part of this initiative. The center is equipped with state-of-the-art computational resources and aims to support a wide range of scientific and technological research, fostering innovation and development in AI and other high-tech fields. The supercomputer at the center, named after the iconic Charles Aznavour, enhances Armenia’s capabilities in big data, AI, and computational science, positioning the country as a leader in the region for technological advancement.

The center was supported by a consortium including the Armenian government, the World Bank, and several academic and private sector partners, reflecting a strong collaborative approach to boost Armenia’s high-tech sector. This strategic move not only strengthens Armenia’s technological infrastructure but also provides vital resources for researchers and innovators within the country and beyond.​

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