Annual Report 2022: Highlights

In 2022, HIIT directly supported a wide range of collaborative research projects and events. Below we present a sample of activities of the Helsinki ICT community in 2022.

HIIT Quantum Software Day

HIIT hosted its first Quantum Software Day at the University of Helsinki Kumpula campus on Friday 3.2.2023 which was intended for all quantum-curious computer scientists. We had over 100 attendees for the event.

This event was partially funded by HIIT community support.

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Artificial intelligence learns to visualize extensive datasets

A new AI algorithm developed by researchers at the Finnish Center for Artificial Intelligence is aimed at visualizing datasets as clearly as possible. The project demonstrated that the solution chosen independently by the algorithm was often very close to that most commonly favoured by humans.
 
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New discoveries with statistical inference

FCAI postdoc Ulpu Remes develops ELFI, the open-source software for likelihood-free inference. According to Remes, likelihood-free inference is needed when researchers observe a system in the real world and then want to fit an appropriate mechanistic model to the observed data.
 
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Scientists use machine learning to gain unprecedented view of small molecules

A new machine learning model will help scientists identify small molecules, with applications in medicine, drug discovery and environmental chemistry. Developed by researchers at Aalto University and the University of Luxembourg, the model was trained with data from dozens of laboratories to become one of the most accurate tools for identifying small molecules.
 
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New creative technologies seminar series

With the help of €20,000 funding from HIIT in 2022, we have set up a new collective/community called Creative Technologies to raise the quality of research in the area.

This seminar series was partially funded by HIIT community support.

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Energy efficiency is a key theme in new projects funded by the Academy of Finland

The projects develop a smart surface, energy-efficient observation systems, detection of disruptive behavior online, neuromorphic i.e. artificial intelligence equipment that works like a brain, high-performance photonics from wood, and reduce chip waste.

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Finnish student team Revontuli took the third place in an international student supercomputer competition

Electrical engineering student Niklas Halonen and computer science student Matias Zwinger were Aalto representatives in team Revontuli. Team advisor Jussi Enkovaara and coach Jussi Heikonen are both Aalto alumni.

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The Alan Turing Institute and FCAI developing Virtual Laboratories and more in wide-ranging collaboration

The Alan Turing Institute and the Finnish Centre for Artificial Intelligence (FCAI) are actively building out their partnership. Both institutions are working on harnessing data science and artificial intelligence to accelerate science and develop and apply new AI methods to challenges in domains such as healthcare.

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Towards the Internet of Senses

The Internet of Senses (IoS) aims at providing comprehensive multisensory experiences that are nearly inseparable from reality and improve intelligent human-machine interaction.

This joint project between Aalto University and TII (Technology Innovation Institute), Abu Dhabi UAE, presents a human-machine interaction testbed for 6 DoF real-time immersion with haptic feedback towards realizing the Internet of Senses.

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A healthy dose of usability

Digital health services have emerged as cost-efficient options for healthcare, but better user experience is needed to ensure inclusive digitalisation.

Senior University Lecturer Sari Kujala was part of a Finnish study that examined how citizens from vulnerable groups – such as the elderly, unemployed and immigrants – made use of digital public health services during the pandemic.

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Diverse pathways to ethical and inclusive tech futures

FCAI and partner Women in AI Ethics (WAIE) hosted a lively discussion on the role of women in AI and tech. “So many women in AI are working behind the scenes. We are doing this work but nobody cares because it’s not making millions,” says Mia Shah-Dand, CEO at Lighthouse3 and Founder of Women in AI Ethics (WAIE). WAIE is a non-profit with a mission to increase recognition, representation, and empowerment of women in AI.

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An AI model reveals how the body’s defence system recognises skin cancer

Researchers from the University of Helsinki, HUS Comprehensive Cancer Center, Aalto University and Stanford University have developed an artificial intelligence model that predicts which skin cancer patients will benefit from a treatment that activates the immune defence system.

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Awarded papers focus on solving basic algorithmic problems, with applications in bioinformatics

The prize for the best research article of the Workshop on Algorithms in Bioinformatics conference (WABI) was awarded to the research conducted in the Graph Algorithms team led by Associate Professor Alexandru Tomescu. The title of the article is “Eulertigs: minimum plain text representation of k-mer sets without repetitions in linear time”.

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Researchers use machine learning to unlock the genomic code in clinical cancer samples

The new method uses machine learning methods to correct damaged DNA and unveil the true mutation processes in tumor samples. This helps to unlock tremendous medicine values in millions of archival cancer samples.

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New forecasting tool can give an early warning of solar storms – boosts preparedness and helps mitigate damage

Associate Professor Maarit Korpi-Lagg has received funding from the European Research Council to develop a forecasting tool to locate the source regions for the eruption of solar flares already a few days before they emerge on the Sun’s surface.

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Machine learning meets medicine in the fight against superbugs

MRSA is an antibiotic-resistant staph infection that can be deadly for those in hospital care or with weakened immune systems. This new research can predict how effective different treatments will be by combining patient data with estimates of how MRSA moves between different parts of the body.

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Data-driven tools can help with continuous assessment of well-being and mental health

What if data of your everyday use of your phone could help with your mental health? The project MoMo-Mood, which kicked off in 2019, is part of a collaboration between Dr. Aledavood and her team with researchers at the University of Helsinki and HUS. In this study, data from patients was collected from participants’ smartphones and other small devices for analysis.

This work was partially funded by HIIT Community Support.

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VILMA Centre of Excellence develops AI methods for modelling the atmosphere

Understanding the formation of atmospheric aerosols is important, since these particles help cool the climate, but also increase mortality due to poor air quality.

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New technologies can help people make sustainable dietary decisions

Design researchers from Aalto’s Creative Sustainability Programme developed a Food Wellbeing Index to capture the social, environmental, health, and economic consequences of food choices. The index integrates several variables to give a holistic overview which reflects the sustainability impact of a dietary choices. In the long run, the integrity and transparency of this information can be supported through the use of blockchain throughout the supply chain.

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Finnish AI Region (FAIR) was selected as one of the four European Digital Innovation Hubs

FAIR helps SMEs develop AI-based innovations into marketable products and streamline their in-house processes with AI. We help companies identify the business opportunities created by AI and support their use. At the same time, we further strengthen the extensive international network of experts.

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Samuel Kaski: Tekoälyn parempi hyödyntäminen vaatii uutta ihmiskeskeisyyttä

Tekoäly voi auttaa ilmastokriisin ratkaisemisessa, tuottavuuden parantamisessa ja parempien päätöksten tekemisessä – mutta vain, jos ihmistä ei sivuuteta yhtälöstä, kirjoittaa Suomen tekoälykeskus FCAI:n johtaja Samuel Kaski.

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New semantic portal gives meaning to parliamentary data

The new tool will help researchers, journalists, and the public to understand and oversee democracy.

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Blockchains uphold data platform cooperation

Research has shown that a blockchain supports the transparency of data and the integrity of data in traffic between different platforms in an Internet of Things environment, thereby stabilising collaboration among platforms.

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Designers find better solutions with computer assistance, but sacrifice creative touch

Designers often rely on a mix of intuition, experience and trial and error to guide them. Besides being inefficient, this process can lead to ‘design fixation’, homing in on familiar solutions while new avenues go unexplored. An optimizer-led process allowed designers to explore more of the design space, but they did not like being hand-held and commanded.

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University of Helsinki joined a Coalition to Advance Finland’s 6G Competitiveness

The 6G Finland project launched now will take national cooperation to a new level. The University of Helsinki will develop the 6G network architecture and applications especially when it comes to programmability, energy efficiency and sustainability.

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New applications for quantum computing sought in hackathons

Quantum computing may gain a significant status in the future, and many businesses have already become involved in quantum hackathons. Among other things, such competitions are used to investigate how product development can be optimised with the help of technical solutions.

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Researchers investigated the size of 1000 popular websites – more than tenfold differences within categories

According to estimates, the ICT sector’s share of the world’s energy consumption will surpass 20 percent by the end of this decade. One of the reasons is the huge increase in the number and size of websites, says Jukka Manner, Professor of Networking Technology at Aalto University. He recently studied the size and energy consumption of Finland’s most popular websites with his research group.

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Digital tracing apps should incorporate social connections to mitigate disease outbreaks

To help cope with the COVID-19 pandemic, many governments rolled out digital tracing apps which notified people when they had been exposed to infection, reducing the disease’s spread via secondary infections. Widespread adoption of these apps would reduce the need for other, more severe measures, such as lockdowns. But it turns out that figuring out what level of adoption would be enough for the apps to work is a challenging problem rooted in human social behaviour.

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Artificial intelligence to assist the brain

Neuroscience and neurotechnology are gaining a fresh ally in the form of artificial intelligence, which can assess dementia risk and enhance the effectiveness of depression treatments.

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Blood cancer cells and the immune system are best frenemies

Researchers at the University of Helsinki and Aalto University have demonstrated that the body’s immune system attacks itself in a rare type of blood cancer. The finding could lead to improved treatment and a more intricate understanding of the immune system’s role in other cancers.

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Synthetic data to assist brain research

There are two good reasons why researchers are interested in synthetic health data: artificially created data does not contain patient data and can be produced in large amounts for research purposes. VTT is developing a method for creating synthetic imaging data for brain research in an international Industrial-grade Verification and Validation of Evolving Systems (IVVES) project.

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Understanding the ethics of artificial intelligence is becoming a civic skill – An online course provides keys to the technology

The use of artificial intelligence raises concerns, as it can bring about major societal change, both for the good and the bad. The free-of-charge Ethics of AI online course helps to understand what the ethically acceptable use of AI means, and what and what it requires of societies and individuals.

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Machine learning helps to identify climatic thresholds that shape the distribution of natural vegetation

A new study explores large-scale relationships between vegetation and climatic characteristics using machine learning. The findings highlight the importance of climatic extremes in shaping the distribution of several major vegetation types.

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