BCAM's Combinatorial Optimization research group leader Carlos Coelho has been appointed a member of the Independent International Scientific Panel on Artificial Intelligence launched by the UN

•  Coello is an Ikerbasque Research Professor at BCAM (Group Leader, Combinational Optimization)
• The panel will be composed of 40 members with a three-year term, selected on the basis of geographical balance and disciplinary diversity. It is the first global scientific body that is “completely independent and specifically dedicated to artificial intelligence.”
• Its mission will be to “reduce the knowledge gap between countries and provide evidence-based assessments of the opportunities, risks, and economic and social impacts” of this technology.

Carlos Coello, Ikerbasque Research Professor at BCAM and leader of the Combinatorial Optimization research group at BCAM, Carlos Coelho, has been appointed a member of the Independent International Scientific Panel on Artificial Intelligence launched by the UN. 

UN Secretary-General António Guterres announced this week the launch of this body, created by mandate of the General Assembly to assess the impacts of this technology. The panel will be composed of 40 members with a three-year term, selected on the basis of geographical balance and disciplinary diversity. According to Guterres, this is the first global scientific body that is “fully independent and specifically dedicated to AI.” He added that its mission will be to “reduce the knowledge gap between countries and provide evidence-based assessments of the opportunities, risks, and economic and social impacts” of this technology.

The panel will produce an annual report of a “non-prescriptive” nature, i.e., it will be advisory and non-normative, seeking to serve as a reference for member states and other international actors. Its members will act in a personal capacity and independently of governments, companies, or institutions.

This appointment represents recognition of Coello’s scientific career and the international relevance of his work in the field of optimization and computational intelligence, as well as his contribution to the advancement of knowledge in key technologies for the responsible development of artificial intelligence.

Carlos Coello is an Ikerbasque Research Professor at BCAM, where he leads research in optimization using bio-inspired metaheuristics, a fundamental area for solving complex problems across multiple scientific and technological disciplines.

Throughout his career, he has received numerous internationally prestigious awards, including the National Research Award in Exact Sciences granted by the Mexican Academy of Sciences (2007), the Medal of Scientific Merit awarded by the Congress of Mexico City (2009), the Heberto Castillo – Ciudad Capital Award (2011), the Scopus Award (2012), the National Medal of Sciences in Physics, Mathematics and Natural Sciences of Mexico (2012), the IEEE Kiyo Tomiyasu Award (2013), the TWAS Award from The World Academy of Sciences (2016), the Luis Elizondo Award (2019), and the IEEE Computational Intelligence Society Evolutionary Computation Pioneer Award (2021). He is also an IEEE Fellow, a distinction reserved for a select group of researchers with extraordinary contributions to the field of engineering and technology.

Before joining BCAM, he carried out his research work at leading international institutions such as the Plymouth Engineering Design Centre (United Kingdom) and the National Laboratory for Advanced Computing (Mexico).