By Susanne Clement Justesen, AAU Communication and Public Affairs.
Graphic: Cecilie Karoline Kalbakk Elgaard, AAU Communication and Public Affairs

Artificial intelligence (AI) will shape the society of the future with new opportunities and dilemmas. AAU therefore wants to be at the forefront with strong research on AI where different disciplines interact and create new knowledge. The establishment of the five AI:X Labs is a big step in that direction.

The research areas are:

1. AI:DEFENCE – A safer society through intelligent AI and language-driven cybersecurity. Lab directors are Johannes Bjerva, Professor and Qiongxiu (‘Jane’) Li, Assistant Professor (tenure track).
2. AI:MIND – Better mental health in young people through conversational artificial intelligence. Lab directors are Majse Lind, Assistant Professor and Niels van Berkel, Professor.
3. AI:EcoNet – Predicting interactions of species in a changing world with artificial intelligence. Lab directors are Michael Ørsted, Associate Professor and Abdulkadir Celikkanat, Assistant Professor.
4. AI:Xpertise – Integrating artificial intelligence into expert work. Lab directors are Andreas Møgelmose, Associate Professor and Kasper Trolle Elmholt, Associate Professor. 
5. AI:Cybernetics – Efficient human-robot collaboration through artificial intelligence. Lab directors are Jakob Lund Dideriksen, Associate Professor and Dimitris Chrysostomou, Associate Professor. 

Intersection of disciplines

The five AI:X Labs will develop new talented AI researchers, strengthen interdisciplinary research and build a strong international reputation. The goal is both to advance the research and to make a difference in society.

"We believe that the best solutions arise in the intersection of disciplines. AI:X Labs bring together researchers across disciplines to create something greater than the sum of the parts, says Dean Thomas Bak, TECH.

Strong research profiles in AI

Each research team is led by two lab directors with strong profiles in AI research. Professor Johannes Bjerva, Department of Computer Science who, along with Assistant Professor Qiongxiu Li, is the lab director for AI:DEFENCE, finds it motivating that AAU invests in groundbreaking basic research on artificial intelligence. 

"I see participation in AI:DEFENCE as an opportunity to really accelerate an entirely new research direction. Six months ago, we identified a hitherto overlooked niche at the intersection of Natural Language Processing (NLP) and cybersecurity, and it has already borne fruit with new publications and collaborations. With AI:DEFENCE, we now have the opportunity to build a unique, internationally leading research environment, he says.

According to Johannes Bjerva, large language models (LLMs) are often implemented without regard for security. This is happening at the same time as cybercriminals are using the language models to scale up and automate attacks. This puts a lot of pressure on security systems, including in the EU. He hopes that AI:DEFENCE can contribute to a more secure and resilient digital society by, for example, developing an open-source tool that can identify advanced AI-generated threats like deep fakes before they reach critical infrastructure. 

A great match

Majse Lind, Assistant Professor, Department of Communication and Psychology and Professor Niels van Berkel are lab directors for AI:Mind. She sees AI as a potentially interesting instrument to add to her own research area dealing with identity, young people and psychopathology. 

"Globally, we have a major challenge, as more and more young people are not thriving and are developing mental illness. AI can be an important contribution to the early detection of pre-markers of psychopathology and as a tool for more focused training of healthcare professionals. It will also be really exciting to collaborate with Niels van Berkel who knows a lot about the method. In that way, it's just a great match, she says. 

Majse Lind hopes and believes that AI:MIND will provide better insight into whether AI can be used to capture important markers for psychopathology. She also hopes that the lab will provide answers to how AI technology can be used to guide and train healthcare professionals to spot and react appropriately to the early signs of psychopathology. 

Talent development

A key part of the AI initiative is the hiring of 20 new PhD students in August 2025. Their participation in the project underscores the importance of supporting the young talented researchers who will become the leaders and innovators of the future. 

"We are investing in young talented researchers because we know that they will take AI to the next level. The 20 new PhD positions will ensure that talent development and innovation go hand in hand," says Thomas Bak, the executive manager for the AI:X Labs project. 

Translated by LeeAnn Iovanni, AAU Communication and Public Affairs.