Jozef Stefan Institute

Koper – The University of Primorska will host the 8th European Congress of Mathematics (8ECM), one of the major events in the field, in the coastal town of Portorož between 20 and 26 June. The congress will be held mostly online due to the epidemiological situation, said the university.

Ljubljana – The Jožef Stefan Institute (IJS) has noted that the Covid-19 epidemic in Slovenia is stagnating in terms of the number of positive tests, with the basic reproduction number standing at around one. It projects that the next, yellow phase of restrictions easing could be reached in mid-May.

Ljubljana – Respecting ethical principles and human rights is key for artificial intelligence (AI) technology to inspire trust, heard a virtual debate on Tuesday. Legislation should be amended to become, among other things, more adaptable as future innovations will pose additional challenges and risks, said the participants.

Ljubljana – Mario Fafangel, the head of the Centre for Communicable Diseases at the National Institute of Public Health (NIJZ), was declared the Person of the Year 2020 by the newspaper publisher Delo at an online event on Thursday evening. He was labelled the leading epidemiologist “showing us the way in the restless sea of the epidemic”.

Krško – The Krško Nuclear Power Station (NEK) was shut down as a precaution on Tuesday after a powerful 6.4-magnitude earthquake hit near the town of Petrinja, Croatia, shortly after midday. Such a shutdown is standard procedure in the event of a strong earthquake, NEK told the STA. NEK is located some 80 kilometres north-west of Petrinja.

Ljubljana – Slovenia’s chief epidemiologist Mario Fafangel and other participants of Friday’s online debate held by the STA Science portal highlighted the importance of exact and correct information regarding the epidemic for citizens and decision-makers. Fafangel announced data collection will be upgraded next week.

Ljubljana – Slovenia is to sign a memorandum of understanding on strategic civilian nuclear cooperation with the US. The document expresses the desire of both countries for deeper bilateral strategic ties, which would improve energy security, increase prosperity and strengthen political and economic ties, the Slovenian government has said.

But there is still no need to fear for John Connor. "Terminator stories or real possibilities of them ever happening are at least several hundred years in the future," according to Jamshid Alamuti, co-founder of Pi School, where creativity and technology meet. He believes that people tend to think of AI development happening faster than it really is.