• Luxembourg
  • asling@asling.org

Dr. Maria Aretoulaki

“The role of the human translator in the era of Generative AI”

Dr Maria Aretoulaki has been working in AI and Machine Learning for the past 30 years: NLP, NLU, Artificial Neural Networks, Speech Recognition, Machine Translation, Text Summarisation, Voice and Chat Conversational Experience Design. She has focused mainly on natural language conversational human-machine interfaces, mainly for Contact Centre applications across all the main verticals for organisations worldwide. She has designed, built and optimised conversational Speech IVRs, Voicebots, Chatbots, Voice and Digital Assistants in several languages for large Enterprises worldwide and Government. In 2018, Maria coined the term “Explainable Conversational Experience Design”, which later morphed to “Explainable Conversational AI” and more recently – with the explosion of LLMs and the ChatGPT hype – to “Explainable Generative AI” to advocate for transparent, responsible, design-led AI bot development that keeps the human in the loop and in control.

Having run her own company for 14 years, Maria joined GLOBALLOGIC / HITACHI in 2022, where she has helped shape and leads the company group’s Explainable Conversational AI and Responsible Generative AI Design strategy. She focuses on Language and Prompt Engineering, Prompt and Chatbot Design, Ontology Design, Knowledge and Content Engineering, as well as AI Ethics and AI Law.  She has been working on Hitachi’s GenAI Platform and the Hitachi AI Policy Committee and is also a Hitachi Design Community Ambassador.

Maria holds a Post-Doc in Conversational AI, a PhD in Neural Networks for Text Summarisation, an MSc in Machine Translation and a B.A. Hons in Linguistics & English.

Christos Ellinides

“Rewiring language services in a public administration”

 

Christos Ellinides is currently the Director-General for the Directorate-General for Translation (DGT) at the European Commission. He is also the Chairman of the Management Board of the Translation Centre for the Bodies of the European Union (CdT).

He joined the Commission in 2006 as Director for corporate digital solutions and services in the Directorate-General for Informatics and was appointed later to the post of Deputy Director-General in DGT. Prior to this, Mr Ellinides has been responsible for the introduction and effective use of information and communication technologies in various organisations operating mainly in Europe, for more than 2 decades.

His career has evolved through posts and assignments in varying industries, and he has acquired broad and extensive experiences mostly in a management capacity including the functions of both a CEO and a CIO. His profile is marked by advanced organizational, coordination, and managerial skills, coupled with profound expertise in IT system platforms, collaborative tools, and telecommunications. He has been instrumental in spearheading innovative corporate infrastructure solutions for the Commission’s information systems and language technologies, leveraging the latest technological advancements, including artificial intelligence.

He has delivered speeches, lectures, and presentations on business, IT and linguistic matters on an international and pan-European level. He is an active member in several professional bodies. He has been a director and board member in a number of organisations with substantial international exposure.

Christos Ellinides is a Chartered Engineer (CEng), Chartered IT Professional (CITP) and a Fellow of the British Computer Society (FBCS). He holds a M.Sc. in Business Systems Analysis and Design from the City University of London (UK) and a B.Sc. in Business and Computing from the Nova University of Miami (USA).