IEEE Computational Intelligence Magazine - August 2020 - 6

appreciate the complexity and opportunities of AI systems. If we all channel our
energy into teaching ethical AI, the gain
will far exceed, and mitigate, the potential risks of these technologies.
5. The IEEE Transactions on
Artificial Intelligence (TAI) is
dedicated to all aspects of AI. How
do you define your role as the
Founding Editor-in-Chief of this
new publication?

Hussein Abbass at Eurocontrol Experimental Centre, Brétigny, France, injecting gel into an
EEG electrode while preparing a participant before an augmented cognition experiment.

3. Where will your research take
you from here?

Currently, I am focusing on distributed
AI. With a wonderful team of students,
post-docs and collaborators, we are
working on a variety of topics including
explainable distributed AI, smart swarm
control algorithms using shepherding
concepts, trusted AI algorithms for distributed contextual and situation awareness, autonomous AI testing, brain
biometrics, and trusted AI algorithms for
autonomous human performance assessment and dynamic allocation of automation functions between humans and
distributed autonomous systems. I use
neural networks, classifier systems, evolutionary computation, and sometimes
fuzzy logic in my research. However, my
early research career is still influencing my research program, where I am
bringing predicate calculus, CLP and
formal methods for trust assurance and
explainable AI.
4. AI has accomplished remarkable
achievements and showed its
benefits to human life; on the other
hand, people are concerned about
its potential risks. Can you share
your thoughts about the
development and future of AI?

AI in the future will not be the AI we
have known in the past, which has been

a mere attempt to replicate human intelligence. Today, our world is being digitized. From the computational power of
today's computers, to the connectivity
offered by Industry 4.0, the future of AI
will focus on distributed AI that is
designed with its social responsibilities
in mind, and consider the importance to
blend within the human social system.
Every technology comes with risks.
It is important to be wisely concerned
in order to develop a better understanding of the risks and attempt to mitigate
them. However, we should not be
alarmed or develop risk-aversion that
denies us the many positive opportunities AI brings. There is abundant evidence to suggest that AI as a technology
will continue to grow. The momentum
has reached a tipping point that it is
inconceivable to even think we should
or can try stopping it.
I feel saddened when I see some people spending their energy to scare people
away from AI. I prefer to spend my energy on educating people to be good
designers of ethical and beneficial AI, to
embrace AI, and to put more emphasis
than ever on ethics and the importance
of trust. My philosophy is to take students on a journey to develop innovative
AI systems to make them understand the
challenges, give them a taste of the realm
of the possible, and get them to truly

IEEE COMPUTATIONAL INTELLIGENCE MAGAZINE | AUGUST 2020

I see my role as threefold. In my strategic
role, my aim is to ensure that when the
readers of the journal read papers published in TAI, they read quality research
that advances the body of knowledge in
AI; and they see the richness of AI
research and how it contributes to the
society. In my executive role, my aim is to
give a fair go to every author and
improve the quality of accepted papers.
In my tactical role, I want to guarantee
smooth workflow in the review system.
6. What would be your priorities
for the first year?

Setting the standards for TAI for future
years.
7. What is your vision for TAI in
five years from now?

TAI will be the go-to journal for both
the public and the technical readers to
discover and understand recent AI
developments and applications.
8. What advices would you like to
offer to the interested authors to
submit their research work?

Follow the scientific method. Write to
influence and generate impact. Be clear
on the contribution and novelty. Your literature is your evidence of the scientific
gap your paper is addressing. Mathematics
exists for people to understand; it does
not exist to obscure the presentation of a
topic. Be upfront with the assumptions of
your proposal. No algorithm will be the
best on all classes of problems, explain
clearly when your algorithm will work
and when it won't. Edit your paper before
submission. Read the Information for
Authors and follow the guidelines there.
Do not submit a paper that you would

IEEE Computational Intelligence Magazine - August 2020

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