IO Week: Is there a parallel between carnival, antidepressants, and women in science?

In our Sunday newsletter, we as editors look back at the past seven days. We do this on the initiative of our cartoonist Albert Jan Rasker. He picks a topic, draws, and we take it from there.

Of course there's that convention – it's called innovation assets. Not only do we bring together a wide range of topics, we always know how to connect them to real-life issues and the needs of our future. That's why you will not only find a lot of information relevant to healthcare, but also about the energy challenges we face, innovative industrial developments and the latest scientific findings. In fact, artificial intelligence is never far from all of these topics. On the contrary, it is becoming increasingly difficult to find stories without a prominent role for artificial intelligence.

We had to laugh a little at this week's selection of Albert Jahn. It clearly represents the non-carnivalesque part of our country. While everyone around our head office in Eindhoven is wondering how they'll get dressed again, our cartoonist (who comes from Over the Rivers) has chosen a lighter theme as the theme of the week. It's about Dutch research that shows how you can dramatically shorten the time it takes to find out if an antidepressant works. Yes, it's expensive, but it can make a big difference for people who need antidepressants. Even as we prepare to visit the pub tonight, we recognize the enormous importance of this research.

Carnival

It's Carnival, the annual three-day party where everyone lets go of all their worries. Music and human emotions play an essential role. You might think that this is not where AI is important. However, Danny Blox and Erdink Sakan, two ICT teachers from Fontys Hogescholen, gave it a try. Their goal: “to stimulate discussion about the role of artificial intelligence in our lives.” Read about their attempt here.

However, we also realize that there is more to life than just a carnival party. Today, February 11, is also International Day of Women and Girls in Science. There is an urgent need to pay attention to this topic, because women are still extremely underrepresented in scientific positions. Especially in the Netherlands. Worse still, the higher the job level, the more skewed the ratio between women and men is. If the policy remains unchanged, it will take many decades before this situation changes. That's why we're pleased to bring you this overview of developments surrounding women in academia. Read it here.

Here you can read what else we noticed this week:

Have a nice week!