Individual Artificial Intelligence Research Articles

Artificial intelligence in corporate communications: determinants of acceptance and transformative processes

PurposeThis study investigates the determinants of artificial intelligence (AI) acceptance in and AI-driven transformations of corporate communications. From a technology adoption perspective, the study explores the dual influence of individual and organizational factors on AI acceptance.Design/methodology/approachEmploying a qualitative research design, this study conducted semi-structured interviews with 19 AI experts in large-scale companies in Germany.FindingsThe study reveals micro-level determinants of AI acceptance related to AI’s perceived usefulness and ease of use. It also identifies macro-level determinants, including organizational awareness and frameworks. Corporate communications is expected to gain relevance due to the organizational integration of AI.Research limitations/implicationsThe proposed model integrates crucial factors influencing AI adoption and offers a starting point for quantitative validation. The study serves as a benchmark for future research, particularly given its timing right before the extensive adoption of ChatGPT.Practical implicationsOrganizations are encouraged to develop strategies that enhance both individual and organizational AI readiness. By reflecting both micro- and macro-level determinants of AI acceptance, a more holistic understanding of effective change management initiatives related to AI integration can be fostered.Originality/valueBy proposing an extension to the technology acceptance model, which incorporates both micro- and meso-level determinants, this study provides a novel framework for holistically understanding AI acceptance in corporate communications.

AI drives the assessment of lung cancer microenvironment composition

PurposeThe abundance and distribution of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) as well as that of other components of the tumor microenvironment is of particular importance for predicting response to immunotherapy in lung cancer (LC). We describe here a pilot study employing artificial intelligence (AI) in the assessment of TILs and other cell populations, intending to reduce the inter- or intra-observer variability that commonly characterizes this evaluation. DesignWe developed a machine learning-based classifier to detect tumor, immune, and stromal cells on hematoxylin and eosin-stained sections, using the open-source framework QuPath. We evaluated the quantity of the aforementioned three cell populations among 37 LC whole slide images regions of interest, comparing the assessments made by five pathologists, both before and after using graphical predictions made by AI, for a total of 1110 quantitative measurements. ResultsOur findings indicate noteworthy variations in score distribution among pathologists and between individual pathologists and AI. The AI-guided pathologist's evaluations resulted in reduction of significant discrepancies across pathologists: three comparisons showed a loss of significance (p > 0.05),whereas other four showed a reduction in significance (p > 0.01). ConclusionsWe show that employing a machine learning approach in cell population quantification reduces inter- and intra-observer variability, improving reproducibility and facilitating its use in further validation studies.

A matrix of artificial intelligence tools in pre-service foreign language teacher training

Importance. The modern stage of information and technological development of civilization is characterised by the dynamic emergence of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies and the development of tools based on them, which are being more and more introduced into various spheres of life. The education system in general, and foreign language education in particular, is no exception. Currently, there are several dozen AI tools that are actively used by students and teachers in the development of foreign language communicative skills and the development of language skills. There is a rather voluminous body of research in the academic literature devoted to the disclosure of the language teaching potential of modern AI tools. However, most of the studies are of a pilot nature. The focus of scholars’ attention is on particular methods for the development of students’ communicative skills or the development of certain language skills based on individual AI tools. The systematic consideration of the integration of AI technologies into the process of teaching foreign language majoring students – future foreign language teachers – linguistic and teaching methods training has not been the subject of a special study. The purpose of this study is to develop a matrix of AI tools used in the linguistic and teaching methods training of future foreign language teachers.Materials and Methods. The study is conducted on the basis of the expert assessment method, which allows to: a) identify the language teaching potential, as well as the limitations of the most common AI tools; b) summarise and classify the available knowledge in the form of a matrix of AI tools used in the linguistic and teaching methods training of future foreign language teachers. The materials of the study were research articles, published in Russian and foreign academic journals, indexed in Web of Science and Scopus.Results and Discussion. A matrix of AI tools in the linguistic and teaching methods training of future foreign language teachers has been developed. The matrix is presented according to six types of feedback from generative AI used in foreign language teaching and teaching methods. The following are the main and most accessible AI tools for teachers and students providing feedback of each type: a) Replika, LingvoBot, Multitran_bot, Slavaribot, WorldContextBot, ChatGPT, Google Assistant, EGEEnglish.ru (educational and social feedback); b) ChatGPT, YandexGPT and GigaChat (information and reference feedback); c) ChatGPT 4.0, YandexGPT, GigaChat, Twee (methodological feedback); d) ChatGPT, YandexGPT, GigaChat, Turnitin, software “Antiplagiat” (analytical feedback); e) Grammarly, PaperRater, Pigai, ChatGPT 4.0, YandexGPT, GigaChat, Criterion (assessment and evaluative feedback); f) ChatGPT, YandexGPT, GigaChat, AI Poem Generator, Midjourney, Suno, Sora, Runway (conditionally creative feedback).Conclusion. The novelty of the research consists in the development of a matrix of AI tools in the linguistic and teaching methods training of future foreign language teachers. The prospects for further research lie in the development of teaching methods for aspects of language, types of speech activity, as well as specialised disciplines based on specific AI tools. In their entirety, these particular methods will enable the creation of an integrated system of linguistic and teaching methods training of future foreign language teachers based on AI tools.

How tech companies advance sustainability through artificial intelligence: Developing and evaluating an AI x Sustainability strategy framework

Sustainability is at the top of the agenda of most tech companies. Specifically, tech companies increasingly utilize artificial intelligence (AI) to meet their sustainability goals. However, little is known about how tech companies can leverage AI to accelerate sustainability by formulating and implementing appropriate strategies. To better understand the intertwined nature of AI and sustainability from a strategy perspective, this research conceptually develops a novel AI x Sustainability framework by drawing from the nested sustainability model and integrating insights from different literature streams. It then applies this framework to six leading Big Tech companies (i.e., Amazon, Google, IBM, Meta, Microsoft, and SAP) by conducting a comprehensive document analysis of 69 documents describing 244 individual AI x Sustainability initiatives to reveal whether and how these companies appear to follow specific AI x Sustainability strategies. Lastly, an exploratory survey with potential tech companies' clients (N = 192) sheds light on how clients perceive tech companies' communicated strategic positioning based on the framework. The research provides new theoretical insights, serves as a blueprint for other tech companies, including implications for their AI x Sustainability positioning, and offers a variety of future research directions.

An Adaptive Combined Learning of Grading System for Early Stage Emerging Diseases

Currently, individual artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms face significant challenges in effectively diagnosing and predicting early stage emerging serious diseases. Our investigation indicates that these challenges primarily arise from insufficient clinical treatment data, leading to inadequate model training and substantial disparities among algorithm outcomes. Therefore, this study introduces an adaptive framework aimed at increasing prediction accuracy and mitigating instability by integrating various AI algorithms. In analyzing two cohorts of early cases of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Wuhan, China, we demonstrate the reliability and precision of the adaptive combined learning algorithm. Employing an adaptive combination with three feature importance methods (Random Forest (RF), Scalable end-to-end Tree Boosting System (XGBoost), and Sparsity Oriented Importance Learning (SOIL)) for two cohorts, we identified 23 clinical features with significant impacts on COVID-19 outcomes. Subsequently, the adaptive combined prediction leveraged and enhanced the advantages of individual methods based on three forecasting algorithms (RF, XGBoost, and Logistic regression). The average accuracy for both cohorts exceeded 0.95, with the area under the receiver operating characteristics curve (AUC) values of 0.983 and 0.988, respectively. We established a severity grading system for COVID-19 based on the combined probability of death. Compared to the original classification, there was a significant decrease in the number of patients in the severe and critical levels, while the levels of mild and moderate showed a substantial increase. This severity grading system provides a more rational grading in clinical treatment. Clinicians can utilize this system for effective and reliable preliminary assessments and examinations of patients with emerging diseases, enabling timely and targeted treatment.

Automated echocardiographic left ventricular dimension assessment in dogs using artificial intelligence: Development and validation.

Artificial intelligence (AI) could improve accuracy and reproducibility of echocardiographic measurements in dogs. A neural network can be trained to measure echocardiographic left ventricular (LV) linear dimensions in dogs. Training dataset: 1398 frames from 461 canine echocardiograms from a single specialist center. 50 additional echocardiograms from the same center. Training dataset: a right parasternal 4-chamber long axis frame from each study, labeled by 1 of 18 echocardiographers, marking anterior and posterior points of the septum and free wall. End-diastolic and end-systolic frames from 50 studies, annotated twice (blindly) by 13 experts, producing 26 measurements of each site from each frame. The neural network also made these measurements. We quantified its accuracy as the deviation from the expert consensus, using the individual-expert deviation from consensus as context for acceptable variation. The deviation of the AI measurement away from the expert consensus was assessed on each individual frame and compared with the root-mean-square-variation of the individual expert opinions away from that consensus. For the septum in end-diastole, individual expert opinions deviated by 0.12 cm from the consensus, while the AI deviated by 0.11 cm (P = .61). For LVD, the corresponding values were 0.20 cm for experts and 0.13 cm for AI (P = .65); for the free wall, experts 0.20 cm, AI 0.13 cm (P < .01). In end-systole, there were no differences between individual expert and AI performances. An artificial intelligence network can be trained to adequately measure linear LV dimensions, with performance indistinguishable from that of experts.

Artificial Intelligence in Marketing Communication: Adoption Challenges and Opportunities Through a Lens of Cognitive Dissonance

As artificial intelligence (AI) becomes increasingly prevalent, humans and organizations must make decisions regarding its adoption and use. However, the adoption of AI can be a complex process that challenges existing beliefs and practices. Cognitive dissonance, the discomfort that arises when individuals are faced with conflicting beliefs or behaviors, can exist within both the individual and organizational AI adoption journey. This article explores the concept of cognitive dissonance in relation to the adoption and use of AI, particularly when users may not even be aware that they are interacting with AI. By understanding the role of cognitive dissonance in the adoption process, individuals and organizations can make informed decisions that promote its successful integration and potentially lead to greater acceptance of its capabilities.

The Current State of Artificial Intelligence in Neuro-Ophthalmology. A Review

This article presents a summary of recent advances in the development and use of complex systems using artificial intelligence (AI) in neuro-ophthalmology. The aim of the following article is to present the principles of AI and algorithms that are currently being used or are still in the stage of evaluation or validation within the neuro-ophthalmology environment. For the purpose of this text, a literature search was conducted using specific keywords in available scientific databases, cumulatively up to April 2023. The AI systems developed across neuro-ophthalmology mostly achieve high sensitivity, specificity and accuracy. Individual AI systems and algorithms are subsequently selected, simply described and compared in the article. The results of the individual studies differ significantly, depending on the chosen methodology, the set goals, the size of the test, evaluated set, and the evaluated parameters. It has been demonstrated that the evaluation of various diseases will be greatly speeded up with the help of AI and make the diagnosis more efficient in the future, thus showing a high potential to be a useful tool in clinical practice even with a significant increase in the number of patients.

Structural-fire responses forecasting via modular AI

This study analyses the structural response of an aluminium reticulated roof structure that is constructed at Sichuan Fire Research Institute (Sichuan, China), and to be tested in fire. The structural fire behaviour under 960 localised fire scenarios is considered first, and then used to construct a database for training a modular artificial intelligence (AI) system for real-time forecasting. The system consists of several AI models, each of which predicts the displacement at a specific monitoring point. These individual predictions are then combined to generate a comprehensive forecast of the global structural-fire behaviour. The individual AI model utilized is a Long Short-Term Memory Recurrent Neural Network (LSTM RNN). The modular design allows different models to be modified or added as needed, making the system flexible and adaptable, and improving the accuracy and reliability of the predictions. The results demonstrate the effectiveness of the modular AI approach in accurately forecasting fire-induced structural collapses as indicated by the sensitivity the local models can have. The key objective of this research is to help to make informed decisions and prioritize efforts to minimize the risk of structural collapse in fire.

Noninferiority of Artificial Intelligence–Assisted Analysis of Ki-67 and Estrogen/Progesterone Receptor in Breast Cancer Routine Diagnostics

Image analysis assistance with artificial intelligence (AI) has become one of the great promises over recent years in pathology, with many scientific studies being published each year. Nonetheless, and perhaps surprisingly, only few image AI systems are already in routine clinical use. A major reason for this is the missing validation of the robustness of many AI systems: beyond a narrow context, the large variability in digital images due to differences in preanalytical laboratory procedures, staining procedures, and scanners can be challenging for the subsequent image analysis. Resulting faulty AI analysis may bias the pathologist and contribute to incorrect diagnoses and, therefore, may lead to inappropriate therapy or prognosis. In this study, a pretrained AI assistance tool for the quantification of Ki-67, estrogen receptor (ER), and progesterone receptor (PR) in breast cancer was evaluated within a realistic study set representative of clinical routine on a total of 204 slides (72 Ki-67, 66 ER, and 66 PR slides). This represents the cohort with the largest image variance for AI tool evaluation to date, including 3 staining systems, 5 whole-slide scanners, and 1 microscope camera. These routine cases were collected without manual preselection and analyzed by 10 participant pathologists from 8 sites. Agreement rates for individual pathologists were found to be 87.6% for Ki-67 and 89.4% for ER/PR, respectively, between scoring with and without the assistance of the AI tool regarding clinical categories. Individual AI analysis results were confirmed by the majority of pathologists in 95.8% of Ki-67 cases and 93.2% of ER/PR cases. The statistical analysis provides evidence for high interobserver variance between pathologists (Krippendorff's α, 0.69) in conventional immunohistochemical quantification. Pathologist agreement increased slightly when using AI support (Krippendorff α, 0.72). Agreement rates of pathologist scores with and without AI assistance provide evidence for the reliability of immunohistochemical scoring with the support of the investigated AI tool under a large number of environmental variables that influence the quality of the diagnosed tissue images.

External Validation of an Ensemble Model for Automated Mammography Interpretation by Artificial Intelligence

With a shortfall in fellowship-trained breast radiologists, mammography screening programs are looking toward artificial intelligence (AI) to increase efficiency and diagnostic accuracy. External validation studies provide an initial assessment of how promising AI algorithms perform in different practice settings. To externally validate an ensemble deep-learning model using data from a high-volume, distributed screening program of an academic health system with a diverse patient population. In this diagnostic study, an ensemble learning method, which reweights outputs of the 11 highest-performing individual AI models from the Digital Mammography Dialogue on Reverse Engineering Assessment and Methods (DREAM) Mammography Challenge, was used to predict the cancer status of an individual using a standard set of screening mammography images. This study was conducted using retrospective patient data collected between 2010 and 2020 from women aged 40 years and older who underwent a routine breast screening examination and participated in the Athena Breast Health Network at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Performance of the challenge ensemble method (CEM) and the CEM combined with radiologist assessment (CEM+R) were compared with diagnosed ductal carcinoma in situ and invasive cancers within a year of the screening examination using performance metrics, such as sensitivity, specificity, and area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC). Evaluated on 37 317 examinations from 26 817 women (mean [SD] age, 58.4 [11.5] years), individual model AUROC estimates ranged from 0.77 (95% CI, 0.75-0.79) to 0.83 (95% CI, 0.81-0.85). The CEM model achieved an AUROC of 0.85 (95% CI, 0.84-0.87) in the UCLA cohort, lower than the performance achieved in the Kaiser Permanente Washington (AUROC, 0.90) and Karolinska Institute (AUROC, 0.92) cohorts. The CEM+R model achieved a sensitivity (0.813 [95% CI, 0.781-0.843] vs 0.826 [95% CI, 0.795-0.856]; P = .20) and specificity (0.925 [95% CI, 0.916-0.934] vs 0.930 [95% CI, 0.929-0.932]; P = .18) similar to the radiologist performance. The CEM+R model had significantly lower sensitivity (0.596 [95% CI, 0.466-0.717] vs 0.850 [95% CI, 0.766-0.923]; P < .001) and specificity (0.803 [95% CI, 0.734-0.861] vs 0.945 [95% CI, 0.936-0.954]; P < .001) than the radiologist in women with a prior history of breast cancer and Hispanic women (0.894 [95% CI, 0.873-0.910] vs 0.926 [95% CI, 0.919-0.933]; P = .004). This study found that the high performance of an ensemble deep-learning model for automated screening mammography interpretation did not generalize to a more diverse screening cohort, suggesting that the model experienced underspecification. This study suggests the need for model transparency and fine-tuning of AI models for specific target populations prior to their clinical adoption.

Patient selection for corneal topographic evaluation of keratoconus: A screening approach using artificial intelligence

BackgroundCorneal topography is a clinically validated examination method for keratoconus. However, there is no clear guideline regarding patient selection for corneal topography. We developed and validated a novel artificial intelligence (AI) model to identify patients who would benefit from corneal topography based on basic ophthalmologic examinations, including a survey of visual impairment, best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) measurement, intraocular pressure (IOP) measurement, and autokeratometry.MethodsA total of five AI models (three individual models with fully connected neural network including the XGBoost, and the TabNet models, and two ensemble models with hard and soft voting methods) were trained and validated. We used three datasets collected from the records of 2,613 patients' basic ophthalmologic examinations from two institutions to train and validate the AI models. We trained the AI models using a dataset from a third medical institution to determine whether corneal topography was needed to detect keratoconus. Finally, prospective intra-validation dataset (internal test dataset) and extra-validation dataset from a different medical institution (external test dataset) were used to assess the performance of the AI models.ResultsThe ensemble model with soft voting method outperformed all other AI models in sensitivity when predicting which patients needed corneal topography (90.5% in internal test dataset and 96.4% in external test dataset). In the error analysis, most of the predicting error occurred within the range of the subclinical keratoconus and the suspicious D-score in the Belin-Ambrósio enhanced ectasia display. In the feature importance analysis, out of 18 features, IOP was the highest ranked feature when comparing the average value of the relative attributions of three individual AI models, followed by the difference in the value of mean corneal power.ConclusionAn AI model using the results of basic ophthalmologic examination has the potential to recommend corneal topography for keratoconus. In this AI algorithm, IOP and the difference between the two eyes, which may be undervalued clinical information, were important factors in the success of the AI model, and may be worth further reviewing in research and clinical practice for keratoconus screening.

Fairness perceptions of artificial intelligence decision-making

<p id="p00005">Inequality is the biggest challenge for global social and economic development, which has the potential to impede the goal of global sustainable development. One way to reduce such inequality is to use artificial intelligence (AI) for decision-making. However, recent research has found that while AI is more accurate and is not influenced by personal bias, people are generally averse to AI decision-making and perceive it as being less fair. Given the theoretical and practical importance of fairness perceptions of AI decision-making, a growing number of researchers have recently begun investigating how individuals form fairness perceptions in regard to AI decision-making. However, existing research is generally quite scattered and disorganized, which has limited researchers’ and practitioners’ understanding of fairness perceptions of AI decision-making from a conceptual and systematic perspective. Thus, this review first divided the relevant research into two categories based on the type of decision makers. The first category is fairness perception research in which AI is the decision-maker. Drawn upon moral foundations theory, fairness heuristic theory, and fairness theory, these studies explain how AI characteristics (i.e., transparency, controllability, rule, and appropriateness) and individual characteristics (demographics, personalities, and values) affect individuals’ fairness perceptions. Existing research revealed that there were three main underlying cognitive mechanisms underlying the relationship between AI or individual characteristics and their fairness perceptions of AI decision-making: (a) individual characteristics and AI appropriateness affect individuals’ fairness perceptions via their moral intuition; (b) AI transparency affects individuals’ fairness perceptions via their perceived understandability; and (c) AI controllability affects individuals’ fairness perceptions via individuals’ needs fulfillment. The second category is fairness perception research that compares AI and humans as decision-makers. Based on computers are social actors (CASA) hypothesis, the algorithm reductionism perspective, and the machine heuristic model, these studies explained how individuals’ different perceptions of attributes between AI and humans (i.e., mechanistic attributes vs. societal attributes, simplified attributes vs. complex attributes, objective attributes vs. subjective attributes) affect individuals’ fairness perceptions and have revealed some inconsistent research findings. Specifically, some studies found that individuals perceive AI decision makers as being mechanical (i.e., lack of emotion and human touch) and simplified (i.e., decontextualization) than human decision makers, which leads individuals perceive that the decisions made by humans rather than AI are fairer. However, other studies found that compared to human decision makers, individuals regard AI decision makers as being more objective (i.e., consistent, neutral, and free of responsibility) than human decision makers, which leads individuals perceive that the decisions made by AI rather than human are fairer. Also, a small number of studies found that there is no significant difference in individuals’ fairness perceptions between AI decision makers and human decision makers. Such mixed findings reveal that individuals’ fairness perceptions of decision-making may be dependent on the specifical attributes of AI that individuals perceived in different contexts. Based on this systematic review, we proposed five promising directions for future research to help expand fairness perception literature in the context of AI decision-making. That is, (a) exploring the affective mechanisms underlying the relationship between AI or individual characteristics and their fairness perceptions of AI decision-making; (b) exploring the antecedents of interactional fairness perceptions of AI decision-making; (c) exploring fairness perceptions when robotic AI is the decision maker; (d) clarifying the boundary conditions when AI decision-making is considered to be fairer than human decision-making, versus when human decision-making is considered to be fairer than AI decision-making; and (e) exploring fairness perceptions when AI and humans make decisions jointly. We hope this review contribute to the understanding of individuals' fairness perceptions of AI decision-making theoretically and practically.

A systematic review of artificial intelligence and data-driven approaches in strategic open-pit mine planning

The significant increase in data availability and high-computing power and innovations in real-time monitoring systems enable the technological transformation of the mining industry. Artificial Intelligence (AI) and data-driven methods are becoming appealing solutions to tackle different challenges in mining operations where an increasingly larger body of research is being published. Strategic mine planning is one of the areas that can be greatly enhanced with the adaptation of AI techniques to make intelligent data-driven decisions. This paper presents a systematic literature review to identify research trends in this field both in the specific area of application and the AI technique used. Papers from popular scientific databases were compiled and categorized into three main identified research areas in this field: Production Planning and Scheduling, Equipment Management and Grade Control, and individual AI techniques were catalogued. The results indicated an exponential growth in the general number of publications, where the most consolidated techniques across all applications were Genetic Algorithms and Discrete Simulation.

Multi-station artificial intelligence based ensemble modeling of suspended sediment load

Abstract In this study, Artificial Intelligence (AI) models along with ensemble techniques were employed for predicting suspended sediment load (SSL) via single station and multi-station scenarios. Feed Forward Neural Networks (FFNNs), Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS), and Support Vector Regression (SVR) were the employed AI models, and simple averaging (SA), weighted averaging (WA), and neural averaging (NA) were the ensemble techniques developed for combining the outputs of the individual AI models to gain more accurate estimations of the SSL. For this purpose, twenty-year observed streamflow and SSL data of three gauging stations, located in the Missouri and Upper Mississippi regions were utilized at both daily and monthly scales. The obtained results of both scenarios indicated the supremacy of ensemble techniques to single AI models. The neural ensemble demonstrated more reliable performance compared to other ensemble techniques. For instance, in the first scenario, the ensemble technique increased the predicted results up to 20% in the verification phase of the daily and monthly modeling and up to 5 and 8%, respectively, in the verification step of the second scenario.

Fusion-based framework for meteorological drought modeling using remotely sensed datasets under climate change scenarios: Resilience, vulnerability, and frequency analysis

Severe drought events in recent decades and their catastrophic effects have called for drought prediction and monitoring needed for developing drought readiness plans and mitigation measures. This study used a fusion-based framework for meteorological drought modeling for the historical (1983–2016) and future (2020–2050) periods using remotely sensed datasets versus ground-based observations and climate change scenarios. To this aim, high-resolution remotely sensed precipitation datasets, including PERSIANN-CDR and CHIRPS (multi-source products), ERA5 (reanalysis datasets), and GPCC (gauge-interpolated datasets), were employed to estimate non-parametric SPI (nSPI) as a meteorological drought index against local observations. For more accurate drought evaluation, all stations were classified into different clusters using the K-means clustering algorithm based on ground-based nSPI. Then, four Individual Artificial Intelligence (IAI) models, including Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS), Group Method of Data Handling (GMDH), Multi-Layer Perceptron (MLP), and General Regression Neural Network (GRNN), were developed for drought modeling within each cluster. Finally, two advanced fusion-based methods, including Multi-Model Super Ensemble (MMSE) as a linear weighted model and a nonlinear model called machine learning Random Forest (RF), combined results by IAI models using different remotely sensed datasets. The proposed framework was implemented to simulate each remotely sensed precipitation data for the future based on CORDEX regional climate models (RCMs) under RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 scenarios for drought projection. The efficiency of IAI and fusion models was evaluated using statistical error metrics, including the coefficient of determination (R2), Mean Absolute Error (MAE), Mean Square Error (MSE), and Root Mean Square Error (RMSE). The proposed methodology was employed in the Gavkhooni basin of Iran, and results showed that the RF model with the lowest estimation error (RMSE of 0.391 and R2 of 0.810) had performed well compared to all other models. Finally, the resilience, vulnerability, and frequency of probability metrics indicated that the 12-month time scale of drought affected the basin more severely than other time scales.

B5G-Enabled Distributed Artificial Intelligence on Edges for COVID-19 Pandemic Outbreak Prediction

In this study, we leverage the fusion of edge computing, artificial intelligence (AI) methods, and facilities provided by B5G to build a heterogeneous set of AI techniques for COVID-19 outbreak prediction. Advancement in the areas of AI, edge computing, the Internet of Things (IoT), and fast communication networks provided by beyond 5G (B5G) networks has opened doors for new possibilities by fusing these technologies and techniques. In a pandemic outbreak, such as COVID-19, the need for rapid analysis, decision making, and prediction of future trends becomes paramount. On a global map, the distributed processing and analysis of data at the source is now possible and much more efficient. With the features provided by B5G, such as low latency, larger area coverage, higher data rate, and realtime communication, building new intelligent and efficient frameworks is becoming easier. In this study, our aim is to achieve higher accuracy in prediction by fusing multiple AI methods and leveraging the B5G communication architecture. We propose a distributed architecture for training AI methods on edge devices, with the results of edge-trained models then propagated to a central cloud AI method, which then combines all the received edge-trained models into a global and final prediction model. The experimental results of five countries (United States, India, Italy, Bangladesh, and Saudi Arabia) show that the proposed distributed AI on edges can predict COVID-19 outbreak better than that of each individual AI method in terms of correlation coefficient scores.

Metaheuristics‐optimized ensemble system for predicting mechanical strength of reinforced concrete materials

This paper develops a novel artificial intelligence (AI)-based approach, called the metaheuristics-optimized ensemble system (MOES), to assist civil engineers significantly in achieving accurate estimations of the mechanical strength of reinforced concrete (RC) materials. MOES integrates the advantages of hybrid and ensemble models by combining a metaheuristic optimization algorithm and efficient AI models. The metaheuristic algorithm finds the optimal hyperparameters of individual AI techniques and simultaneously adjusts their weights to yield the best optimized-weight-ensemble model. Particularly, the developed MOES was established by integrating the forensic-based investigation optimization algorithm, the radial basis function neural network, and the least squares support vector regression. Four case studies of predicting structural mechanics of RC beams were performed to evaluate the performance of MOES and compare it to those of other single AI models, conventional ensemble models, hybrid models, and empirical methods. The analytical results of cross-validation reveal that MOES was the most reliable approach, achieving the best values of all performance evaluation indexes. The automated predictive analytics revealed the robustness, efficiency, and stability of MOES. Thus, the proposed approach is a highly promising tool for predicting the structural mechanics of RC beams. The success of MOES in estimating the mechanical strength of RC beams has redefined the way of optimizing an ensemble AI model, which is the primary contribution of this research to the relevant body of knowledge.

Ready or Not, AI Comes\u2014 An Interview Study of Organizational AI Readiness Factors

Artificial intelligence (AI) offers organizations much potential. Considering the manifold application areas, AI’s inherent complexity, and new organizational necessities, companies encounter pitfalls when adopting AI. An informed decision regarding an organization’s readiness increases the probability of successful AI adoption and is important to successfully leverage AI’s business value. Thus, companies need to assess whether their assets, capabilities, and commitment are ready for the individual AI adoption purpose. Research on AI readiness and AI adoption is still in its infancy. Consequently, researchers and practitioners lack guidance on the adoption of AI. The paper presents five categories of AI readiness factors and their illustrative actionable indicators. The AI readiness factors are deduced from an in-depth interview study with 25 AI experts and triangulated with both scientific and practitioner literature. Thus, the paper provides a sound set of organizational AI readiness factors, derives corresponding indicators for AI readiness assessments, and discusses the general implications for AI adoption. This is a first step toward conceptualizing relevant organizational AI readiness factors and guiding purposeful decisions in the entire AI adoption process for both research and practice.

Prediction of Seismic Wave Intensity Generated by Bench Blasting Using Intelligence Committee Machines

In large open pit mines prediction of Peak Particle Velocity (PPV) provides useful information for safe blasting. At Sungun Copper Mine (SCM), some unstable rock slopes facing to valuable industrial facilities are both expose to high intensity daily blasting vibrations, threatening their safty. So, controlling PPV by developing accurate predictors is essential. Hence, this study proposes improved strategies for prediction of PPV by maximum charge per delay and distance using the concept of Intelligent Committee Machine (ICM). Besides the Empirical Predictors (EPs) and two Artificial Intelligence (AI) models of ANFIS and ANN, four different ICMs models including Simple and Weighted Averaging ICM (SAICM and WAICM) and First and Second order Polynomial ICM (FPICM and SPICM) in conjunction with genetic algorithm, proposed for the prediction of PPV. Performance of predictors was studied considering R2, RSME and VAF indices. Results indicate that ICM methods have superiority over EPs, ANN and ANFIS, and among the ICM models while SAICM, WAICM and FPICM performing near to each other SPICM overrides all the models. R2 and RSME of the training and testing data for SPICM are 0.8571, 0.8352 and 11.0454, 12.3074, respectively. Finally, ICMs provides more accurate and reliable models rather than individual AIs.