SSIT is the First Chapter of IEEE in Bahrain and Middle East
Ahlia University conducted a new research paper comprised an adequate evaluation framework used in universities and educational institutions to assess the usage of AI Chatbots in education, where Ahlia University intended to propose the framework to the universities and research centres in order to employ its results in their assessment criteria.
In June 2023, Ahlia University, under the directives of Prof. Abdulla Al-Hawaj, Ahlia University Founding President, Chairman of the Board of Trustees, conducted research in which it considered one of the important activities related to the social implications of AI Chatbots. An academic team consisted of Dr. Jenan Moosa, Ms. Sara Al-Aswad, and leaded by the Dean of IT College Dr. wasan Shakir Awad, had participated in the research. The research included reviewing previous studies in AI Chatbots, incidents, cases, and a survey conducted by the researchers which involved respondents from IEEE SSIT Bahrain Chapter, faculty members and students from different universities in Bahrain, in addition to some representatives from the industry. Several rules and regulations had also been recommended in order to use AI Chatbots in education.
On 1st of February 2023, Dr. Wasan Awad founded and chaired IEEE Society of Social Implications of Technology (SSIT) chapter in Kingdom of Bahrain. It considered the first IEEE SSIT chapter in the Middle East and has 30 members from different institutions in Bahrain, such as Ahlia University, King Hamad Hospital, and Ministry of Interior.
Since the technologies, such as in AI and robotics, promised great advances in human productivity, as well as the risk and harms, the SSIT aimed to focus on environmental, economic, health and safety implications of technology, shedding the light on five major areas, which are: Sustainable Development & Development, Ethics, Technology Benefits for All, Future Societal Impact of Technology Advances, Protecting the Planet and Sustainable Technology.
Dr. Wasan Shakir Awad said that the new technologies will raise new questions that require new ways of thinking, and new standards will need to consider, whether in the form of industry rules, regulations, or legislation.
The SSIT chapter presented its first scientific activity in a special session in the International Conference of IT Innovation and Knowledge Discovery (ITIKD 2023) which held on 8 and 9 March 2023, and the session was chaired by Mr. Hassan Abdulla, the Vice Chair of the chapter. The special conference session included six research papers focused on sustainable development and technology impact on education. These research papers are available in the IEEE digital library which is indexed by Scopus.
