YEREVAN, Armenia — On May 6, American University of Armenia’s (AUA) Center for Ethics in Public Affairs officially celebrated the launch of its partnership with Horizon Europe FORSEE project with the leadership of Professor Maria Baghramian, European Research Area Chair at AUA. The Center is pleased to announce that it has successfully secured a €600,000 grant to contribute to a project that redefines the meaning of “success” for artificial intelligence (AI).
FORSEE (Forging Successful AI Applications for European Economy and Society) is a Horizon Europe Research and Innovation Actions project established by the Centre for Digital Policy of the University College Dublin (Ireland). AUA is part of a distinguished international group that includes Tilburg University’s Institute for Law, Technology and Society (Netherlands), Trinity College Dublin’s ADAPT Centre (Ireland), TASC Europe Studies (Ireland), the Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin für Sozialforschung (Germany), the European Digital SME Alliance (Belgium), Université Paul Sabatier Toulouse III (France), and Demos Helsinki (Finland).
AUA is contributing with five researchers who, with their expertise in ethics, cognitive science, and social epistemology, will investigate the conditions for trustworthy AI in the era of Large Language Models (LLM). The project spans over two years and will run alongside the Center’s Horizon Europe €2.5 million ETICA project, also funded by the European Union’s Horizon scheme, researching topics on ethics in the public sphere.
The launch included speeches from AUA President Dr. Bruce Boghosian, Professor Maria Baghramian, and Alexander Yesayan, co-founder of Firebird.ai and Team Telecom Armenia. Among attendees were Ani Papikyan, chief specialist of the Digitalization Department of the Ministry of High Tech Industry of the Republic of Armenia, the Armenian Society of Fellows (ASOF), FAST, academics from AUA and universities in Yerevan, and other distinguished guests.
Dr. Boghosian delivered the opening remarks on the project and its significance not only for AUA, but also Armenia. “As AI becomes an integral part of our societies and our modes of working, contributing to the development of trustworthy and responsible AI is essential, and AUA is proud to be part of this global effort,” he emphasized. Dr. Boghosian further added, “As AUA continues to grow its research portfolio, this grant will play an important role in advancing interdisciplinary collaboration with outstanding researchers and contributing to the global conversations in the field.”
Following Dr. Boghosian’s speech, Professor Baghramian reflected on the aim and the objectives of the project. “FORSEE attempts to respond, in a timely way, to the challenges facing our society at this transformative technological moment,” she noted.
Yesayan echoed the previous observations by commenting on the rapid advances in the domain. He remarked, “Nobody can tell how fast it will happen. There are a lot of discussions that physical AI will come in a matter of one or two years, and the acceleration is getting faster and faster.” He added that it’s important that there is such an initiative happening in Armenia.
The launch concluded with a Q&A session during which the attendees gained direct insight from the pioneering members of the project, and engaged in a meaningful conversation about AI and the research that FORSEE will conduct.
AUA strives to continue with important initiatives like FORSEE that contribute to research, innovation, and collaboration with other institutions aiming for research excellence in an international context.
FORSEE (Forging Successful AI Applications for European Economy and Society) is funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Research Executive.
Founded in 1991, the American University of Armenia (AUA) is a private, independent university located in Yerevan, Armenia, affiliated with the University of California, and accredited by the WASC Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC) in the United States. AUA provides local and international students with Western-style education through top-quality undergraduate and graduate degree and certificate programs, promotes research and innovation, encourages civic engagement and community service, and fosters democratic values.
