Artificial Intelligence (AI) gets bad press but can absolutely be a force for good according to Torrens University researcher Professor Seyedali Mirjalili who has been named in The Australian's Research 2023 magazine as Australia's, and the world's, top AI researcher.
This outstanding recognition is a fitting acknowledgment of both the work of Professor Mirjalili and the growing research community at Torrens University.
As the Director of Centre for Artificial Intelligence Research and Optimisation at Torrens University, Professor Mirjalili's research focuses on how AI is used to revolutionise many aspects of our lives and solve global crises in a wide range of sectors such as food, industry and health.
Professor Mirjalili says that by using AI wisely, we can, for example, reduce the cost of food and services dramatically – and create new jobs.
"AI is a powerful force that is reshaping our daily lives, our personal and professional interactions and the environment we live in," said Professor Mirjalili.
"Torrens University Australia is a certified B Corp and we are unwavering in our mission to be a force for good in business and education. Cutting edge AI research is one of our contributions to harnessing technology in a clever way for current and future generations.
"AI is already revolutionizing customer experience in many industries such as transport with self-driving cars, office buildings, toll collection, supermarkets, banking, and hospitals. The top industries where AI will have a massive impact are manufacturing, supply chain and logistics, food, agriculture, and education.
"Our experience of the last three years has proven that these are critical industries to our health, safety and wellbeing. We need to future proof these industries in a way that is clever, sustainable and adds value to the planet – and by using AI, we can do this."
Dr Kerry London, Pro Vice Chancellor Research, said as research income and outputs increase in the competitive field of AI, global competition between the United States, China and Europe is on the rise.
"As nations vie for leadership in AI research – the global output for AI research grew from just over 52,000 globally to 403,000 in 2019, representing an increase of more than 600%. The fact that a TUA researcher is leading the field is an extraordinary achievement," said Professor London.
"Torrens' strategy is focussed on creating a suite of internationally competitive talented partnerships with innovators in industry, government, community, and academia to incubate the intellectual space for collaborative solutions applying AI across a range of our strengths such as health sciences and policy, law, agribusiness, and construction.
"We work with market leaders; large and small in Canada, Germany, Spain, Ireland, Israel, UK, US and India and daily we are fielding approaches for Ali and my team of senior researchers to deliver innovative and integrated solutions. The University's commercial structure enables quite a differentiated businesslike culture which our partners appreciate."
Students studying at Torrens University Australia benefit from world class researchers such as Professor Mirjalili who expose them to innovative research, brought directly into the curriculum where they work with data sets and gain hands-on experience.
"If you are a student in the 21st century, no matter whether you want to change the world or make money or both, you need to focus on emerging technologies – the global crises that we now face will be solved by these technologies," said Professor Mirjalili.
Professor Mirjalili, was born in Iran. He left in his early 20s to do a Masters degree in Malaysia and then came to Australia in 2012 and completed his PhD at Griffith University in 2015. In 2019, his papers were cited 600 times by other researchers. In 2020, that number grew to above 10,000 times. And for 2022, it already stands at more than 21,000 times. It is this stellar citation record that has propelled him to the top of his field.
"I choose to work at Torrens University Australia because as a young university with a culture of innovation - they recognize my contribution, empower and support me – which has a direct flow on effect to the students who learn here, to the industry and to society."
