Generative AI and the Future of Research Speaker Series: Blessing Ogbuokiri

Blessing Ogbuokiri is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Computer Science at Brock University, Canada, and Director of the Responsible and Applied Machine Learning Laboratory (RAML Lab). He was previously a postdoctoral fellow and instructor at York University’s Africa-Canada Artificial Intelligence and Data Innovation Consortium Lab in Toronto. He received his Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa. His research interests include Responsible AI, machine learning, NLP, and theoretical computing. His research focuses on the intersection of Responsible AI and health—from building models using machine learning algorithms to predict diseases to applying NLP techniques for sentiment analysis, text classification, and natural language understanding—to help communities and governments tackle infectious disease outbreaks. A recipient of the Black Scholar Research Grant (2025) and the Google DeepMind AI Award (2018), he collaborates widely across disciplines and served as a co-chair of the Affinity Workshops at NeurIPS 2023. He also organizes the Black in AI Workshop and developed the Responsible AI course at Brock University, reflecting his commitment to inclusive, equitable, and impactful AI systems. Visit him at BrockU.ca.

Abstract:
Large Language Models (LLMs) like GPT-4, Gemini, and LLaMA are transforming how we interact with information, yet questions about their trustworthiness and responsible use remain critical. In this talk, we explore foundational principles for building and evaluating responsible LLMs, uncover common pitfalls in their development and deployment, and highlight recent progress toward more transparent, fair, and accountable AI systems. Drawing on both technical and ethical perspectives, the session will offer insights for researchers and practitioners working across computer science, information science, and interdisciplinary fields. Attendees will gain a deeper understanding of what it takes to build LLMs we can trust—and how to navigate the complex trade-offs involved.

About the speaker series:
The CIRSS Speaker Series continues in Spring with a new theme of “Generative AI and the Future of Research.” Our speakers will share their research on the opportunities and risks associated with the rapidly evolving landscape of generative AI usage in scholarship.

We meet most Wednesdays, 9am-10am Central time, in Zoom. Everyone is welcome to attend. More information, including upcoming speaker schedule and links to recordings, is available on the series website. For weekly updates on upcoming talks, subscribe to our CIRSS Seminars mailing list. Our Spring series is led by Yuanxi Fu and Timothy McPhillips, and supported by the Center for Informatics Research in Science and Scholarship (CIRSS) and the School of Information Sciences at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.