The ETSI Artificial Intelligence (AI) Conference - Status, Implementation and Way Forward of AI Standardization, took place physically on 5-7 February 2024 in ETSI, Sophia Antipolis, France.

Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning (AI/ML) technology has made major advancements in recent years and is becoming a key enabler for new disruptive features and applications in any digital product.

This face-to-face event offered attendees the unique opportunity to come together to exchange with experts, network with peers, visit the demos and posters around the subject of Machine Learning with a specific focus on Information and Communications Technology (ICT).

AI/ML will fundamentally shift the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) industry, as technologies such as Natural Language Processing, Deep Learning, and others will enhance the performance of communications, applications, content, and digital commerce.

Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning are already part of the networks and services, and are present across multiple sectors such as finance, manufacturing, medical, telecommunications and transportation. AI Chatbots and AI voice assistants are widely deployed in society. Still this field is quickly evolving and the event will provide an opportunity for experts to have insights into the latest developments.

Europe and other regions are drafting policy and legislation which will impact the deployment of artificial intelligence. In the context of the draft AI Act, the EU puts forward objectives including:

  • “ensure that AI systems placed on the Union market and used are safe and respect existing law on fundamental rights and Union values";
  • "facilitate the development of a single market for lawful, safe and trustworthy AI applications and prevent market fragmentation”.

Attendees learned about the latest status and had the opportunity to meet and discuss with experts in this field. 

The event presented the regulations in the different regions of the world and provided the opportunity to get involved in standardization that will play an important role in the context of European and global regulation. The topics also addressed the corresponding new market access requirements, conformity assessment, etc. The event was also an opportunity for research organizations (academia and industrial research) to discuss new trends and features in the field of AI.

The conference presented available work in the domain of AI. In this context, ETSI’s experts presented published and ongoing work on cybersecurity, testing of AI, trustworthy AI, sustainable AI, applications of AI for verticals and many more.

Demonstrations and Posters on the latest advances in the field of AI/ML applied to ICT systems and applications complemented the conference programme.

Demos and posters complemented the conference agenda. Event attendees had the opportunity to visit the demos and posters during the conference coffee and lunch breaks.

  • Day 1: Monday 5 February
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    11:00 - 12:50  SESSION 1: Opening Address, Setting the Scene
    Chaired by Markus Mueck, ETSI OCG-AI Chair, ETSI Board Chair, Programme Committee Chair

    • 11:00 Opening Address
      • Luis Jorge Romero, ETSI Director General
      • Markus Mueck, Programme Committee Chair

    • 11:20 Keynote: Generative AI – Is It Even Possible To Do That Responsibly?
      Hans Petter Dalen, IBM

    • 11:50 Keynote: Generative AI, from Vision to Language
      Pietro Michiardi, Eurecom

    • 12:20 Keynote: Standardization Work in Support of the AI Act
      Antoine-Alexandre Andre, DG CNECT, European Commission

    12:50 - 14:15 Lunch & Networking Break - Demos and Posters Visits

    14:15 - 15:55 SESSION 2: AI Regulation on a Global Level/Across regions
    Chaired by Gabrielle Owen, Dutch Authority for Digital Infrastructure

    This session gives an overview of the approaches in different regions with regard to AI regulation.

    • 14:15 China AI Policies and Standardization
      Betty Xu, SESEC

    • 14:35 Artificial Intelligence: Status Update from India
      Dinesh Chand Sharma, EU Project SESEI

    • 14:55 The UK Government’s approach to the cyber security of AI
      James Deacon, DSIT

    • 15:15 The NIST AI Risk Management Framework
      Jesse Dunietz, NIST

    • 15:35 Overview of the Japanese position on AI
      François Ortolan, NEC Labs Europe 

    15:55 - 16:25 Coffee & Networking Break - Demos and Posters Visits

    16:25 - 17:40  SESSION 3: Standardization in Support of the Upcoming AI Act and the Legal Frameworks Outside EU
    Chaired by Francois Ortolan, ETSI OCG-AI, NEC Labs Europe Ltd

    This session focuses on international and European standards supporting the locally applicable regulation of AI.

    • 16:25 Status of JTC21 Activities in Response of the Standardization Request on AI
       Kim Skov Hilding - Patrick Bezombes - Sebastian Hallensleben - CEN CENELEC JTC 21

    • 16:40 Cooperation between ETSI and JTC21
      Markus Mueck,  ETSI OCG-AI Chair, ETSI Board Chair

    • 16:55 AI Overview of ISO/IEC SC42
      Wael Diab, ISO/IEC SC42 Chair

    • 17:10 Q&A and Panel Discussion with the session speakers

    17:40 Presentation from StandICT.eu and HSBooster Projects
    Maria Giuffrida, StandICT.eu & HSBooster

    17:45 Networking Cocktail and End of Day 1

  • Day 2: Tuesday 6 February
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    09:00 - 10:30 SESSION 4: Cyber Security in the Context of AI
    Chaired by Ray Forbes, ETSI OCG AI, Programme Committee Member

    With AI becoming an ubiquitous tool in software deployment, this session will discuss the related cyber security challenges.

    • 09:00 Current and Future Activities of ETSI TC SAI (Securing Artificial Intelligence) 
      Scott Cadzow, ETSI TC SAI Chair

    • 09:20 How to Deal with Cyber AI. Overlaps of AI with the standardization work in ETSI TC CYBER
      Samim Ahmadi

    • 09:40 European Approach to AI Cybersecurity
      Corina Pascu, ENISA

    • 10:00 Q&A / Panel discussion with the session' speakers

    10:30 - 11:00 Coffee & Networking Break - Demos and Posters Visits

    11:00 – 12:45 SESSION 5: Applications of AI in Cellular and Communications Networks
    Chaired by Andreas Maeder, Nokia

    This session discusses the applications of AI from the perspective of network manufacturers and operators.

    • 11:00 Trustworthy AI in a Telecom Network
      Andreas Maeder, Nokia

    • 11:20 Mobile Network Operator View on AI
      Ahmet Faruk Coskun, Turkcell

    • 11:40 Overview of AI Specification in Experiential Networked Intelligence (ENI)
      Ray Forbes, ETSI ISG ENI Chair (Experiential Networked Intelligence)

    • 12:00 The role of AI in Network Automation - The ZSM Case
      Diego Lopez, ETSI ISG ZSM Chair (Zero Touch Network and Service Management)

    • 12:20 Q&A / Panel discussion with the session' speakers

    12:45 - 14:15 Lunch & Networking Break - Demos and Posters Visits

    14:15 – 16:00 SESSION 6: Applications of AI in Various Sectors
    Chaired by Suno Wood, ETSI TC eHealth Chair

    This session discusses the applications of AI in the health, industrial automation, automotive and aerospace sectors.

    • 14:15 eHEALTH and AI - New Horizons 2024
      Suno Wood, ETSI TC eHealth Chair

    • 14:35 Managing the European Airspace with AI
      Benjamin Cramet, EUROCONTROL

    • 14:55 AI in Intelligent Transport
      Niels Skov Andersen, ETSI TC ITS Chair (Intelligent Transport Systems)

    • 15:15 Potentials and Challenges of Industrial AI
      Marco Ulrich, ABB

    • 15:35 Q&A / Panel discussion with the session' speakers

    16:00 - 16:30 Coffee & Networking Break - Demos and Posters Visits

    16:30 - 18:00 SESSION 7: Novel AI Features, and Related Conformity Assessment
    Chaired by Dorian Knoblauch, ETSI MTS AI Working Group Chair

    This session's objective is understanding how AI related requirements can be tested and validated in the context of conformity assessment.

    • 16:30 MTS AI Group's Efforts in Testing, Auditing, and Documentation Schemes
      Dorian Knoblauch, ETSI MTS AI WG Chair, ETSI TS 104 008 Rapporteur

    • 16:50 3GPP (WI on AI/ML in the Network)
      Puneet Jain, 3GPP SA Chair

    • 17:10 Future Conformity Assessment for AI Safety and Security
      Xavier Valero, DEKRA

    • 17:30 Q&A / Panel Discussion with the session' speakers

    17:45 Networking Drinks and End of Day 2

  • Day 3: Wednesday 7 February
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    09:00 – 10:45 SESSION 8: Deep Dive on Selected Topics
    Chaired by Jochen Friedrich, Programme Committee Member, ETSI Board Member

    In ETSI’s work to date several complex peculiarities of AI have been uncovered. The intent in this session is to look in some detail at these topics and address trustworthiness, eco impact, ethics and similar to open debate on the relevance of standardisation.

    • 09:00 An Enterprise Software Framework to Manage AI Governance at Scale
      Martijn Wiertz, IBM EMEA Technical Sales Lead, AI governance

    • 09:20 Sustainable AI: Adding a Conscience
      Greg Ainslie-Malik, SPLUNK

    • 09:40 AI and Moral Decision-Making
      Bernard Sinclair-Desgagné, Skema Business School and Université Côte d’Azur (GREDEG)

    • 10:00 New Technological Trends and Standardization Activities at ITU on AI
      Frederic Werner, ITU

    • 10:20 Q&A / Panel Discussion with the session' speakers

    10:45 - 11:15 Coffee & Networking Break - Demos and Posters Visits

    11:15 – 12:45 SESSION 9 - PANEL DISCUSSION: New ETSI Initiatives in the Field of AI
    Moderated by Markus Mueck, ETSI OCG-AI Chair, ETSI Board Chair, Programme Committee Chair

    The session will give an overview of the currently ongoing and planned ETSI activities in the field of AI. It is an opportunity for new stakeholders to better understand the current ETSI Standardization landscape and get engaged.

    Panelists include:

    • Scott Cadzow, ETSI TC SAI Chair (Securing Artificial Intelligence), Generative AI
    • Ray Forbes, ETSI ISG ENI Chair
    • Dorian Knoblauch, ETSI MTS AI Working Group (Methods for Testing & Specification - AI)
    • Franck Le Gall, ETSI ISG CIM Chair (cross-cutting Context Information Management(CIM) Layer), Knowledge enabled AI
    • Diego Lopez, ETSI ISG ZSM Chair (Zero-touch network and Service Management)
    • Alain Mourad, ETSI ISG ISAC Chair (Integrated Sensing And Communications)
    • Arman Shojaeifard, ETSI ISG RIS Chair (Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces), Smart surfaces/smart elements

    12:45 ETSI AI Conference Wrap-up and Closing Remarks
    Presented by Markus Mueck, Programme Committee Chair

    13:00 End of ETSI AI Conference

Venue:

ETSI Headquarters
650 Route des Lucioles
06560 Valbonne - Sophia Antipolis
FRANCE

Tel: +33 4 92 94 42 00

Information on venue, travel, visa, local accommodation is available at www.etsi.org/events/find-us

The  Conference attendees had the opportunity to visit the following demos and posters during the networking coffee and lunch breaks. 

DEMOS:

  1. Generative AI based enterprise knowledge hub - SriLanka Telecom Mobitel PLC (Anil Pradeep Kumara and Navindu Madanayaka) 
    • Querio AI is a Generative AI based enterprise knowledge hub. It is a centralized platform that serves as a repository of information and resources. This innovative solution is developed with Generative AI and LLM to introduce the capacity for data-driven decision-making through AI-driven analysis of substantial datasets.It's designed to facilitate knowledge sharing, collaboration, and access to information within a particular organization, community, or field. This solution can take information in the form of documents, Web URLs,..etc depending on their purpose and the context. Most of the time information generated within the organization is huge and accessibility of those is a challenge. This is the solution for any organization where their most of the knowledge is scattered and accessibility takes time. This Generative AI based enterprise knowledge hub is quickly joining the workplace and it boosts in productivity and innovation. Querio AI can be in many forms such as sales assistant, call center assistant, field assistant, financial assistant, .etc depending on the information fed and context that employed.

  2. AI-enabled Cyberattack Detection in Open-Radio Access Network - University of Western Macedonia (Dimitris Pliatsios):
    • The open radio access network (O-RAN) is an industrial standard for RANs that specifies the interconnections and interfaces among various components towards increasing network flexibility and enhancing interoperability between equipment. Additionally, O-RAN facilitates the integration of network intelligence and programmability, by leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) and network softwarization approaches, enabling autonomous RAN orchestration. O-RAN is a critical component of Beyond-5th and 6th generation (B5G/6G) mobile networks as it is the main interface between the user equipment (UE) and the mobile network. Consequently, it is a primary target for adversaries seeking to disrupt communications or compromise data integrity. The utilization of AI techniques is a promising asset in detecting and addressing the impacts of potential cyberattacks against critical infrastructure, such as a telecommunications network. As a result, the combination of AI and the network status data obtained through O-RAN can lead to the development of novel countermeasures against cyberattacks.

  3. Deceiving Post-hoc Explainable AI (XAI) Methods in Network Intrusion Detection - University College Dublin (Thulitha Millawa Gamage):
    • Artificial Intelligence used in future networks is vulnerable to biases, misclassifications, and security threats, which seeds constant scrutiny in accountability. Explainable AI (XAI) methods bridge this gap in identifying unaccounted biases in black-box AI/ML models. However, scaffolding attacks would hide the internal biases of the model from XAI methods, jeopardizing any auditory or monitoring processes, service provisions, security systems, regulators, auditors, and end-users in future networking paradigms, including Intent-Based Networking (IBN). For the first time ever, we formalize and demonstrate a framework on how an attacker would adopt scaffoldings to deceive the security operators in Network Intrusion Detection Systems (NIDS). Furthermore, we propose a detection method that auditors can use to detect the attack efficiently. We rigorously test the attack and detection methods using the NSL-KDD. We then simulate the attack on 5G network data. Our simulation illustrates that the attack adoption method is successful, and the detection method can identify an affected model with extremely high confidence.

  4. Explainable AI-based Data Poisoning Attacks Detection and Defence: Approaches for Better Accountability in Robust Algorithms for Federated Learning - University College Dublin (Chamara Sandeepa):
    • Next-generation networks like Beyond 5G (B5G)/6G are envisioned to be fully AI-driven. Therefore, it can be expected to rely highly on up-to-date ML models, continuously trained by a distributed and privacy-preserved architecture like Federated Learning (FL). However, a surge of new threats to FL's security and privacy has been observed over recent years. Data poisoning is a critical attack aiming to manipulate client model updates from their training objective. This results in the degradation of model utility and increased vulnerability to privacy attacks. This demo aims to introduce a novel approach to detecting and defending against poisoning attacks via Explainable AI (XAI) using SHAP to identify anomalous clients and eliminate them from an FL system. We demonstrate the potential of adopting post-hoc explanations as a part of a robust aggregation algorithm to filter poisoning clients and enhance the explainability of decisions effectively.

  5. Towards Safer Large Language Models - NEC Laboratories Europe (Kiril Gashteovski):
    • Large Language Models (LLMs) are revolutionizing our world. They have impressive textual capabilities that will fundamentally change how human users can interact with intelligent systems. Nonetheless, they also still have a series of limitations that are important to keep in mind when working with LLMs. We explore how these limitations can be addressed from two different angles. First, we look at options that are currently already available, which includes (1) assessing the risk of a use case, (2) prompting a LLM to deliver explanations and (3) enacsing LLMs in a human-centered system design. Second, we look at technologies that we are currently developing, which will be able to (1) more accurately assess the quality of an LLM for a high-risk domain, (2) explain the generated LLM output by linking to the input and (3) fact check the generated LLM output against external trustworthy sources.

  6. Enabling AI in the physical Layer for 6G: Learning channel estimation on a Sub-Terahertz Over-the-Air link -  Keysight Technologies (Alan Anderson): 
    • Keysight Technologies present a 6G prototype which uses AI in the physical layer to handle the challenges of a complex channel in the untapped spectrum in the sub-THz frequency range. The setup includes an over-the-air link and an AI-powered receiver. The AI algorithms are able to cope with the complexity of the channel compensation problem by automatically learning about their surroundings and therefore is able to improve the link quality, which in turn boosts throughput and allows for power-aware optimisations. In the demo, we will illustrate how this method improves on the MMSE conventional algorithm baseline.

  7. Managing the European Aviation Network with AI - Eurocontrol (Benjamin Cramet): 
    • Eurocontrol, the European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation, plays a crucial role in predicting the Aviation Network and supporting the aviation industry in the development of AI models to enhance the efficiency of its operations. The organization provides valuable support to airlines, airports and air traffic controllers in the management of daily operations, using AI models to predict the impact of various factors such as weather conditions, delays, arrival times, taxi times, and passenger demand. These models are instrumental in ensuring smooh th and seamless operations, making Eurocontrol an indispensable partner for the aviation. https://www.eurocontrol.int/artificial-intelligence

  8. Resilient cobot-powered warehouse inventory/manufacturing management through AI/ML mechanisms - WINGS ICT Solutions (Christina Karousatou):
    • The goal of this demo is to leverage Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning (AI/ML) together with 6G capabilities, such as robotics and extended reality, to address the challenges of the rapidly growing landscape of warehouse inventory management and industrial manufacturing. The demo consists of collaborative robots (cobots), i.e., autonomous mobile robots (AMRs), as well as drones (UAVs) cooperating in conducting automated tasks in an industrial environment. The use case exhibited here, primarily concerns a Resource Allocation scenario, where the objective is to optimize the placement of a) the inventory management services, e.g., allocation of item scanning cobot role, and b) workloads requiring considerable computational resources (e.g., computer vision tasks), based on current workload, energy availability, hardware capabilities (e.g., ground/aerial node), as well as physical environment parameters, such as real-time proximity to the inventory locations.

POSTERS:

  1. Cybersecurity for AI Applications - Cyber Governance Ltd (Rita Esen)
  2. Ethics-by-Design in AI-Driven Human-Robot Collaborative Manufacturing: Navigating Regulatory and Ethical Challenges - Eunomia Limited (Christina Nanou)
  3. Standardization: AI Act’s cornerstone - Eunomia Limited (Nikolaos Koulierakis) 
  4. Multi-modal Latent Diffusion - Eurecom / Renault Software Labs (Mustapha Bounoua)
  5. AI Standards in Aviation - EUROCAE (Tri Thuc Nguyen)
  6. Cybersecurity Requirements for High Risk AI Systems: The Roadmap for an Holistic Approach - INESC TEC (Vasco Rosa Dias)
  7. 6G-XR - An evolvable experimental infrastructure of key B5G/6G candidate technologies - Intel Deutschland GmbH (Markus Mueck)
  8. Transforming ICT with Cutting-Edge AI Enablers: A 6G Perspective - Nextworks (Giacomo Bernini)
  9. Generative AI for Network AIOps - Omdia (James Crawshaw)
  10. Enhancing remote patient monitoring through Integrated AI and Open-Source platforms: A Detailed Examination of Complex Cardiovascular and COVID-19 Symptomatology - OpenNovations (Hans de Raad)
  11. EU AI Act’s High-Risk AI Applications and Harmonised Standards - ADAPT Centre, Trinity College Dublin (David Lewis)
  12. 6G Revolution in Healthcare: Bridging the Healthcare Data Chasm - Turkcell İletişim A.Ş. (Buse Bilgin)
  13. Resilient Mobile Networks under Earthquake: Next-Generation Disaster Management - TURKCELL (Buse Bilgin)
  14. End-to-end AI for Intelligent 6G Networks - University of Bristol (Juan Parra)
  15. AI-powered evolution towards open and secure edge architectures - UPC - Polytechnic University of Catalonia (Irene Vila Muñoz)
  16. Leveraging Machine Learning for Throughput Prediction in Cellular Networks - University College Cork (Cormac Sreenan)
  17. Preserving Privacy of Federated Learning Systems via Recommendation-based Defence - University College Dubli(Chamara Sandeepa)
  18. Deceiving LIME Explainable AI Method in Network Intrusion Detection - University College Dublin (Thulitha Millawa Gamage)
  19.  Artificial intelligence for optical wireless communication - University of Strathclyde (H. Safi)

INFOSTAND

Greg Ainslie-Malik, Splunk
AI can consume a large amount of resources, with estimates suggesting ChatGPT needs to use 500ml of water for every couple of dozen of questions it answers. At the same time AI can be used to identify resolutions to some of the most challenging sustainability questions, helping organisations and governments meet the UNs Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In this talk we will look at the balance between AI for sustainability and sustainable AI offering some thoughts on how you can add a conscience into your artificial intelligence.

skov andersenNiels Peter Skov Andersen, ETSI TC ITS Chair, Anemone Technolog
Niels Peter Skov Andersen is General Manager for the Car-2-Car Communication Consortium and has more than 35 years background in standardization. He is currently chair of ETSI TC ITS. He was an industry participant in standardization of GSM phase 1, part of ETSI project team responsible for GSM phase 2, Chairing the ETSI SMG2 – ETSI’s lead GSM radio group - through the elaboration of GPRS, EDGE and 3G. When 3GPP was created, he was elected the first chair of the then main plenary - TSG SA a position he held for 6 years. In addition, when the remaining GSM work was transferred to 3GPP, he in addition was elected chairman for the TSG GERAN the group responsible for maintenance and evolution of the GSM based radio network. In addition to this he has been a member of the ETSI Board in the period 2005-2020 and also for a period of 3 years been member of the Board of directors the Open Mobile Alliance.

Antoine-Alexandre André, DG CNECT, European CommissionAndre

Antoine-Alexandre André is a Legal and Policy Officer working for the European Commission (DG CNECT) in the unit responsible for AI Policy Development and Coordination. He has been closely following the drafting of the Commission proposal on AI (the AI Act) and the 2021 review of the Coordinated Plan on AI. He is one of the lead members of the team working on the development of standards to support the requirements of the AI Act and conformity assessment procedure as well as relationship of AI Act proposal with the sectoral legislation. Antoine-Alexandre has a multidisciplinary background in political science, applied economics, law and international relations.

Ahmet Faruk Coskun, Turkcell
Ahmet Faruk COSKUN received the B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees in Electronics Engineering from Gebze Technical University, Gebze, Turkey, in 2008, 2010, and 2013, respectively. He has worked as a research assistant in Electronics Engineering Department in Gebze Technical University from 2008 to 2011, and as a researcher in The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkiye (TUBITAK) from 2011 to 2023. Since September 2023, he is working as 6G senior researcher in the 6GEN Frontier Lab. of Turkcell. His current research interests include 5G+ wireless communications, massive MIMO schemes, physical layer security, passive sensing and radar applications, and reconfigurable intelligent surfaces.

crametBenjamin Cramet, Eurocontrol
As an experienced software engineer and aviation expert, Benjamin has a career spanning over 20 years. He holds a diploma in software engineering and has worked extensively in various domains of aviation. Benjamin's expertise lies in designing safety compliant software, deploying operational systems, and connecting aviation stakeholders to network systems via B2B/API. Throughout his career, he has worked with prestigious organizations such as Eurocontrol, where he played a pivotal role in designing and implementing tracker radar systems. He has also been involved in several AI projects and innovation initiatives, leveraging his vast knowledge of the industry to improve the air traffic management flow and enhance overall safety and efficiency.

dalenHans Petter Dalen, IBM
Hans Petter (”HP”) Dalen, is the head of IBM’s AI Governance initiative in EMEA. A 23 year old IBM veteran, he has been in the middle of several transformative technological innovations. Originally a Lotus Development employee, he later moved into analytics, advanced analytics and big data analytics.
He started his professional career in customer support in a Telco in Norway 30 years ago, and has client success always at the front of his mind. With AI Governance, he is looking to future proof clients from regulatory requirements, protect reputations as well as providing a competitive advantage.
He is an AI subject matter expert and a very engaging speaker.

deaconJames Deacon, UK Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT)
James Deacon is a Policy Lead in the UK's Department for Science, Innovation and Technology. He is responsible for policy development and international standards engagement for the cyber security of emerging technologies, including AI. Previously, he led DSIT (and DCMS) work on international standards, international engagement and policy development for IoT.

 

Wael Diab, ISO/IEC SC42 Chair
Wael William Diab is a business and technology strategist with more than two and half decades of executive experience at Fortune 500 companies in Silicon Valley. He is a prolific inventor with more than 900 patents to his name in the ICT field and an industry recognized expert on digital transformation. Skilled in leadership for breakout technology, Diab has architected strategy, driven industry-wide initiatives, cultivated partnerships, identified M&A opportunities and orchestrated company roadmaps for transformational fields including Artificial Intelligence (AI), Industrial IoT and ICT sustainability.
Wael has BS and MS degrees in EE and BA in Economics from Stanford, and an MBA with honors from Wharton. He is a published author, having authored the book Ethernet in the First Mile: Access for Everyone. In 2011, Wael was recognized by the David Packard Medal of Achievement and Innovator Award for his leadership in Green Technology.
Wael has been active in standardization and related activities for over two decades. He chairs ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 42, the international standardization committee on artificial Intelligence (AI) looking at the holistic AI, analytics and Big Data ecosystems. Wael led the development of and chairs the ISO/IEC AI workshop series. In September 2023, ISO recognized the ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 42 (AI) committee and Wael, for his leadership, through the 2023 Lawrence D. Eicher Leadership Award. This prestigious award recognizes the significant contribution and superior performance of an ISO committee. Wael has led numerous global AI forums such as the AI track at the 22nd Global Standards Collaboration (GSC-22).
At the Industrial Internet Consortium (IIC), Wael is the Secretary of the Steering Committee and chairs the Liaison Working Group, Technology Working Group, Industrial AI Task Group and Global Event Series Task Group. He is a lead author of the Industrial IoT AI Framework (IIAIF), Industrial Analytics: The Engine Driving the IIoT Revolution whitepaper and the Industrial IoT Analytics Framework (IIAF). He is a recipient of the IIC Individual Contributor Award. Wael is a member of the IoT Solutions World Congress Program Committee and chairs its AI forum.

Jesse Dunietz, NIST
Dr. Jesse Dunietz is a computer scientist in the Information Technology Laboratory (ITL) at the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), where he leads international engagements on AI for NIST’s Trustworthy and Responsible AI program. He holds a bachelor's from MIT and a Ph.D. from Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), both in computer science. His technical background includes research in natural language processing at CMU, MIT, Google, and a small startup. He has also trained hundreds of researchers in science communication and written many articles and video scripts for mass media outlets. Prior to his current position, he was a AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellow at the U.S. Department of State, where he led the Department's international work on AI and human rights.

forbesRaymond Forbes, ETSI ISG ENI Chair (Experiential Networked intelligence), Huawei UK
Educated at Loughborough University of Technology between 1977 and 1984, Dr. R.C.Forbes joined Plessey Telecommunications where he worked on Software Engineering and Analysis. Since 1990 he has worked on network development in the area of Intelligent Networks and the standardisation thereof. He has chaired the NGN Protocols in ETSI including the IMS adaptation to fixed networks and the Common IMS programme. He was elected as ETSI TC M2M Protocols WG Chairman. Also, he has been actively involved in the ITU-T Smart Focus Group.
He was appointed as chairman of the M2M Protocols activity in oneM2M the global Standards Partnership Project. Also, he was appointed as Leader of the M2M Service Enablement & Utilities Standardization. Currently, he is working for Huawei Technologies to lead and chair the ETSI ISG ENI (Experiential Networked intelligence) and ETSI ISG PDL (Permissioned Distributed Ledger) Vice-Chairman.

hallenslebenSebastian Hallensleben, CEN-CENELEC JTC21
Dr. Sebastian Hallensleben is Chair of the Trusted Information working group. He co-chairs AI risk and accountability in OECD ONE.AI and has roles in AI committees in the Council of Europe and UNESCO. Sebastian Hallensleben heads Digitalisation and Artificial Intelligence at VDE Association for Electrical, Electronic and Information Technologies. He focusses in particular on AI ethics, on handling the impact of generative AI, building privacy-preserving trust infrastructures as well as characterising AI quality. 

puneetPuneet Jain, 3GPP SA Chair, Intel Corporation
Puneet Jain is a Senior Principal Engineer and Senior Director of Technical Standards at Intel Corporation. Within this role, he leads the Network Standards team, spearheading research and standardization efforts in the realm of end-to-end network architecture for cutting-edge mobile broadband technologies such as 5G, 5G-Adv, and 6G. With a career spanning over 25 years, Puneet has extensive expertise in the telecom and wireless industry, excelling in standardization, research, and product development. Puneet is the current 3GPP TSG SA Chair. Prior to this, he served as the 3GPP SA2 Chair (2019 – 2023) and as the 3GPP SA2 Vice-Chair (2015 – 2019). Puneet's contributions also include serving as the Rapporteur for various study/work items (Rel-11 to Rel-13) focused on Machine Type Communication (MTC) and Cellular Internet of Things (CIoT) within 3GPP SA2. Additionally, he has held key roles such as TSDSI Global SDO Task Force co-chair (2021 – 2022) and oneM2M Steering Committee Vice-Chair (2014 – 2016).

knoblauchDorian Knoblauch, ETSI MTS AI, Fraunhofer Fokus
Dorian Knoblauch studied Computer Science and now works as a Researcher at Fraunhofer Fokus, focusing on AI and IT-Security. His interests include automated quality assessment of AI systems and research in certification approaches. He is also active in AI standardization groups at DIN and ETSI.

legallFranck Le Gall, ETSI ISG-CIM Chair, EGM
Dr Franck Le Gall (male), is CEO at EGM, an innovative SME focused on integration and validation of emerging technologies. He is driving company development to deploy data technologies over vertical markets (water, agriculture, smart territories, energy, environment, etc.). He involves himself in standardisation area including ETSI where he is chair of the ETSI ISG-CIM working group on NGSI-LD. He is also elected member of the FIWARE Technical Steering Committee (TSC). He continuously contributes and drives several projects for public and private customers.

michiardiPietro Michiardi, EURECOM
Prof. Pietro Michiardi received his M.S. in Electrical Engineering from Politecnico di Torino and his M.S. in Computer Science from EURECOM. Pietro received his Ph.D. in Computer Science from Telecom ParisTech, and his HDR (Habilitation) from UCA.  Pietro is a Full Professor and head of the Data Science Department at EURECOM. In his work, Pietro focuses on methodological advances in machine learning, Bayesian Inference, generative modelling and representation learning. Pietro is interested in developing a theoretical understanding of methods that learn from data, in methodological aspects of computationally efficient inference approaches, and their application to industrial domains such as the automotive, telecommunication and financial industries. In the past, Pietro worked on a wide range of research topics, including: computer networks and their performance evaluation, applied cryptography, applied game theory, distributed systems, and data management systems. Pietro has published over 160 research papers to date.

MouradAlain Mourad, ETSI ISG ISAC Chair, InterDigital
Dr Alain Mourad has over 22 years’ experience in telecommunications research and innovation (R&I), where he contributed to the enhancements of various generations of global wireless and internet standards at ETSI, 3GPP, DVB, ATSC, IEEE WiMAX and Wi-Fi, and IETF. Through his career, Alain has worked for three global companies namely InterDigital, Samsung Electronics, and Mitsubishi Electric – holding various R&I roles in France and the UK targeting global standards, primarily for 3GPP cellular (3G, 4G, 5G, 6G) and DVB broadcasting (2nd Generation). He is currently a Senior Director and the Head of Wireless Lab Europe at InterDigital, leading R&I on 5G evolution towards 6G in the European ecosystem.

mueckMarkus Mueck, ETSI AI Coordination Group (OCG-AI) Chair, ETSI Board Chair, Intel
Dr. Markus Mueck received the Dipl.-Ing. and ing. dipl. degrees from the University of Stuttgart, Germany and the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Télécommunications (ENST), Paris, France respectively in 1999. In 2006, he received the Doctorate degree of ENST in Communications. Dr. Mueck is a Principal Engineer with Intel Deutschland, Munich, Germany and an Engineering Director; he acts as Chair of the ETSI Board, he is Chair of ETSI OCG AI coordinating the overall effort of the organization on AI and Adj. Professor of University of Technology, Sydney, Australia.

 

Francois Ortolan, ETSI AI Coordination Group (OCG AI) Vice-chair, ETSI Board Member, NEC Labs Europe
Francois Ortolan is a Senior Standardisation Engineer at NEC Labs Europe. He has over 15 years’ experience working with advanced mobile telecommunication and its industrial applications. He is a specialist in the interplay between AI and Telecommunication. He is currently Vice-chair of the ETSI AI coordination group (OCG AI) and an ETSI Board member.

owenGabrielle Owen, Dutch Authority for Digital Infrastructure
Dr. Gabrielle Owen is a Senior Specialist in the Market Access and Standardization Team at the Dutch Authority for Digital Infrastructure. She joined the ETSI Technical Committee Electromagnetic Compatibility and Radio Matters (TC ERM) in 2002 and was the Chair of TC ERM as well as the Operational Coordination Group R&TTE (OCG R&TTE), from 2005-2013. More than 400 deliverables were published during her chairmanship of TC ERM, including many Harmonized Standards under the European Directive for radio equipment and dozens of ETSI System Reference documents which were submitted to the CEPT/ECC Working Group Frequency Management to request the use of radio spectrum. She strengthened the internal cooperation between the ETSI radio groups as well as the external cooperation with CEPT/ECC. Gabrielle Owen served as a member of the ETSI Board from 2017 to 2023 and served as Vice Chair of the ETSI Board from September 2018 to December 2020. She was named an ETSI Fellow in 2021. She is currently the Head of the National Delegation of The Netherlands to the ETSI General Assembly. 

pascuCorina Pascu, ENISA
Corina Pascu is a cybersecurity expert with European Union Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA) in Athens, where she covers cybersecurity certification and cybersecurity research and innovation. Her current work concerns certification strategies for Artificial Intelligence. Other relevant recent work concerned preparing the EU5G candidate certification scheme and leading a string of activities related to cybersecurity research and innovation and cybersecurity market activities (focused in 2023 on cryptographic products and services). Prior to joining ENISA, she worked with the European Commission Directorate General Research and Innovation on the formulation of European Open Science policies, European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) and international activities (G7 Open Science Open Science Working Group), invested time in various evaluation activities for European Commission and worked with European Commission’s in-house Science Hub on Sevilla site on the social and economic implications of ICTs and digital innovations in society and digital economy. She has extensive international and multicultural exposure, analytical mind forged in think tanks and international expert panels on digital innovations and she has extensive writing experience as author and co-author of peer-reviewed articles (ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9068-5271 , Scopus (author ID: 54889553600), https://op.europa.eu/en/home ), reviewer of academic papers and past associate editor for research topics with renewed journals (Frontiers). She holds engineering and economic degrees.

romeroLuis Jorge Romero, Director-General ETSI
Luis Jorge Romero, Director General of ETSI, has 30 years of experience in the telecommunications sector. At ETSI he has initiated a global standardization partnership for IoT communications, oneM2M. He has overseen the rapid development of ETSI’s Industry Specification Groups accelerating market penetration of new technologies and has enabled the first Open Source group in ETSI, leading to the new Software Development Groups initiated in 2022. Luis Jorge has also successfully positioned the institute to take a leading role in 5G standardization through the 3GPP global partnership project and through initiatives such as ETSI’s Multi-access Edge Computing, Network Functions Virtualization or Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces groups. He is driving the implementation of the ETSI Strategy, an ambitious plan to prepare the institute for the future. Previously he has held diverse Director positions in Spain, Morocco and Mexico, predominantly with Telefonica. As Global Director for International Roaming and Standards, and Director of Innovation and Standards, he oversaw Telefonica's participation in global standardization activities, and participated directly in the work of the Next Generation Mobile Networks (NGMN) Alliance and in the GSM Association (GSMA). Before joining ETSI in July 2011, he held the position of Director General of Innosoft and was also a partner and board member of the Madrid-based Innology Ventures.

schmidtHelene Schmidt, ETSI
Helene graduated from Aalborg University in Denmark in 1996 with a Bachelor of Arts in English and French with the specialization: Languages and Marketing. She joined the ETSI Secretariat in 1997 and has held several positions within OPS (Operations) and is now part of the team NSS [Network, System & Security]. Today Helene’s principle duty is support to the ETSI Board, the OCG, OCG AI and OCG AN. Helene has major interest in AI and standardization activities. She also provides support to TC ATTM dealing with Access, Terminals, Transmission and Multiplexing.

sharmaDinesh Chand Sharma, Standards & Public Policy, EU Project SESEI
Since 2012, Mr. Dinesh Sharma is associated with EUROPEAN STANDARDISATION PROJECT, SESEI as Director – Standards and Public Policy for last 10+ years. In this role, Mr. Sharma acts as the focal point in India representing European Standards Organizations (ETSI, CEN, CENELEC), European Commission (EC DG-GROW) and European Free Trade Association (EFTA). Mr Sharma’s current role as SESEI focuses around sectors/topics falling under the domain of Digitalization, Green & Clean Energy etc. Prior to this, Mr. Sharma worked with Ericsson for 15 years, with last worked profile as “Director – Regulatory Affairs & Industry Relation”. Mr. Sharma began his career in Technical Customer Support back in 1992 and has over 30 plus years of industry experience both in India and abroad. Mr. Sharma holds a bachelor’s degree in Electronics, highest honors in Business Management from Stratford Institute, USA, and a SUN Solaris certification.

ShojaeifardArman Shojaeifard, ETSI ISG RIS Chair, InterDigital
Dr. Arman Shojaeifard has extensive experience in research, development, and standardization of radio transmission technologies, protocols, and architectures. He is currently a Senior Manager at InterDigital, responsible for the Radio Interface R&D at the Wireless Lab Europe. He also serves as the Chair of the ETSI Industry Specification Group on Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces (ISG RIS). He served as the Technical Manager of the Innovate-UK/CELTIC-NEXT European collaborative R&D project on AIMM (AI-enabled Massive MIMO) between 2018-2022. Prior to InterDigital, he was a Principal Researcher and 3GPP RAN1 WG Delegate at British Telecommunications plc. He received his PhD degree in Wireless Communications from King’s College London in 2012.

sinclairBernard Sinclair-Desgagné, Skema Business School
Bernard Sinclair-Desgagné is Professor of Economics and CSR at Skema Business School. Previously, he was for several years, and successively, Professor at INSEAD, the École polytechnique de Montréal and HEC Montréal. He holds a PhD from Yale University. His publications can be found in major journals such as Econometrica and Management Science. His recent work focuses on incentive compensation and responsible business, CSR and artificial intelligence, and the measurement of innovation. He has been elected a Fellow of the European Economic Association and the Louis Bachelier Institute. In 2006, he won (with co-author Pauline Barrieu of the LSE) the Finance and Sustainability European Research Award for the article “On Precautionary Policies” published in Management Science. From 2008 to 2019, he was a member of the Commission de l’éthique en science et en technologie (CEST), which advises the Government of Québec on ethical matters raised by the deployment of new technologies. 

ulrichMarco Ulrich, ABB Corporate Research Center Germany
Dr. Marco Ulrich is heading the “Digitalization and Software Technologies” department at the ABB Corporate Research Center in Germany. Research fields span from IoT and connectivity topics to software architecture and cloud/edge computing up to artificial intelligence and data analytics. He studied Physics at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT, Germany) and the University of Uppsala (Sweden) and holds a doctoral degree in Physics from University of Heidelberg (Germany).

valeroDr. Xavier Valero, DEKRA
Xavier is an experienced leader in driving AI transformation across the organization and is responsible for the global steering of all AI & Advanced Analytics activities within DEKRA. Together with his team, he is shaping impactful products and services using AI and Advanced Analytics for the TIC (Testing, Inspection & Certification) industry. Xavier brings 15+ years of experience in AI and data-driven software development and has a proven leadership track record in driving AI transformation, building up teams and converting data into impactful business models. Xavier is responsible for the development of services to test and validate the safety, security and trustworthiness of AI systems and applications. Advisor and contributor to CEN/CENELEC JTC21, the German Standardization Forum on Data and AI and the TIC Council Digital and AI Task Force, among others.

wernerFred Werner, International Telecommunication Union
Frederic Werner, based in Geneva, Switzerland, currently serves as the Head of Strategic Engagement at ITU, the United Nations’ specialized agency for ICTs, and also holds the position of Chief of Strategy and Operations for AI for Good. Fred leads TSB’s strategic engagement initiatives, covering digital marketing and communications, membership and business development, business intelligence and analytics, fundraising and resource mobilization, community building and event design, as well as piloting AI-powered tools to enhance business processes and operations.
As one of the creators of the landmark AI for Good Global Summit, his mission centres on connecting AI innovators with problem owners to collectively advance the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Motivated by the potential of communication technologies and AI, he believes in harnessing their power to drive business, improve society, and tackle global issues.

wiertzMartijn Wiertz, IBM
Martijn Wiertz is the Technical Sales Leader for IBM watsonx.governance in the EMEA region. In this role, he combines his technical, analytical and industry knowledge to help clients understand and validate the unique value that the solution can bring to help them enact responsible AI.
He has 25 years of experience in the field of advanced analytics, experiencing all major developments in the evolution of the industry first hand. Prior to his current role, Martijn was the global technical sales lead for IBM’s solution to combat financial crimes and he was Director, Enterprise Solutions at SPSS Inc. when that company was acquired by IBM.

woodSuno Wood, ETSI TC eHealth Chair, eG4U
I am now in my 10th year as Chair of ETSI TC eHEALTH. As a professional business advisor, I previously worked closely with a team of Russian doctors to bring their experience of telemedicine to the European market.
I have attended many meetings of other ETSI groups where the subject of eHEALTH appeared relevant. This includes TC ERM TG30, TC SmartBAN, TC SmartM2m, SC USER GROUP, OCG and Board meetings.
I am a member of the ETSI OCG-AI group which drafted the first ETSI White Paper on Artificial Intelligence in 2020
During the Covid-19 crisis I initiated the ETSI ‘Hub for Health’ which has successfully brought us together for informal discussion, workshop style, and assessment of eHEALTH development in the context of ‘Smart Cities’ with a determined consideration of ethics and Human Rights at a time of crisis and pandemic.

Betty Xu, Seconded European Standardization Expert in China (SESEC)
Betty Xu, took the position as Seconded European Standardization Expert, SESEC, in China in Sept 2014. SESEC is a project co-funded by European Commission, EFTA, three official European SDOs (CEN, CENELEC and ETSI). The purpose of the project is to support EU-China co-operation in standardization.
Betty Xu was born in China and got her Bachelor and master’s degree in Shandong University, majored in Electrical Engineering. She then got her Doctor’s Degree in Electrical Engineering in The University of Queensland of Australia in 2006.
Dr. Betty Xu had more than 10 years’ experience in industry, first as the software/hardware developer, then as Standardization Director. She also used to work for Standards Australia from 2013-2014.
Dr. Betty Xu was appointed as the “Seconded European Standardization Expert in China” in August 2014 and has been the Director of this project since then.

  • Markus Mueck, Programme Commitee Chair, ETSI OCG-AI Chair, ETSI Board Chair, INTEL (Germany)
  • Alexander Cadzow, ETSI TC SAI Secretary, Cadzow Communications Consulting Ltd (UK)
  • Scott Cadzow, ETSI TC SAI Chair, Cadzow Communications Consulting Ltd (UK)
  • Ray Forbes, ETSI OCG-AI Vice Chair, ETSI ISG ENI Chair, Huawei (UK)
  • Jochen Friedrich, ETSI Board Member, IBM (Germany)
  • Antoine Mouquet, ETSI OCG-AI and ETSI ISG SAI Technical Officer, ETSI (France)
  • François Ortolan, ETSI OCG-AI Vice Chair, NEC (Germany)
  • Helene Schmidt, ETSI OCG-AI Support Coordinator, ETSI (France)

Presentations made during the event are available in PDF format.

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