The University of Minho inaugurated the Augmented Human Intelligence Axis (AHiA) laboratory on August 10th, at the future campus in São Cosme do Vale, Famalicão. The session included speeches by Filipe Vaz, pro-rector for Research at UMinho, António Abelha, representative of the ALGORITMI research center, and Leonel Rocha, councilman of Culture of the Municipality of Famalicão.
The event also included the presentation of the report “Literacy XX & Literacy XXI – Knowledge for All”, by Marisa Monteiro Borsboom, founder of the Portuguese-Dutch agency Humanity of Things, and Cesar Analide, director of the AHiA laboratory and EEUM professor. The program also includes the opening of an exhibition of paper sculpture by Marco Filipe.
AHiA is co-sponsored by ALGORITMI Center’s Synthetic Intelligence Lab and Humanity of Things. Its 15 elements will produce content, programs and policies aimed at building a humanized digital and technological environment focused on the dissemination of knowledge. The intention is to ensure tools and knowledge of literacy, ethics, philosophical thinking and human rights in the online and technological sphere for any citizen.
UMinho’s laboratory infrastructure in Famalicão will have 17 laboratories, eight of which belong to the Center of Biological Engineering, five to the Center for Microelectromechanical Systems, one to the ALGORITMI Center and three multidisciplinary laboratories, including the Laboratory for Advanced Materials Technologies and Systems. The industrial infrastructure, meanwhile, counts on the presence of the spin-offs Nanopaint and Satisfibre. Nearly a hundred UMinho researchers are currently working at the center in 40 approved projects, which have an overall funding of 10 million euros.