11 December 2025
Bilbao Campus
The University of Deusto has played an active role in Artificial Intelligence Week, organised by the Universidad Alberto Hurtado (UAH) in Chile. This unprecedented event, held from 1 to 5 December, brought together specialists, academics, students and professionals to reflect broadly, critically and from a multidisciplinary perspective on the impact of AI on academic, professional and social life.
Deusto’s participation in this initiative underlines the institutional commitment to internationalisation and the strengthening of networked collaboration among Jesuit universities worldwide. These increasingly strategic alliances help to consolidate spaces for dialogue, research and shared teaching in response to contemporary technological challenges.
A week to reflect on AI from the perspectives of ethics, diversity and the common good.
Artificial Intelligence Week at UAH featured lectures, panels, workshops, roundtables, project presentations and activities open to both the university community and the general public. Within this framework, Lorena Fernández, head of the Artificial Intelligence Committee at the University of Deusto, took part in several sessions, offering a critical perspective on the ethical challenges of AI and the non-neutrality of technology.
One of the first activities was the roundtable “Feminism, artificial intelligence and gender-based violence in universities,” organised by the UAH Department for Gender, Diversity and Equity. The discussion examined how AI can perpetuate gender inequalities if it is not designed within ethical, diverse and inclusive frameworks.
She also delivered the lecture "From Those Biases to These Algorithms: The Contribution of Women to Computing and Programming" (see here). The lecture invited a critical review of discriminatory algorithmic biases and the social materiality of data, while also highlighting the (often overlooked) role of women in the history of technology. Through everyday examples, real cases and an approach that placed ethics at the centre of digital design, Fernández reminded participants that technological systems reflect human decisions: "Technology is never neutral: it reflects intentions, omissions and social structures. The challenge is for artificial intelligence not to amplify inequalities, but to contribute to a fairer, more diverse and aware society.”
Applied innovation: Hackathon IA UAH–ACHS 2025
Among the most hands-on activities of the week, the UAH Faculty of Engineering and the Chilean Safety Association (ACHS) organised the IA UAH–ACHS 2025 Hackathon. Interdisciplinary teams developed AI-based solutions aimed at improving prevention, workplace safety and innovation in work environments. The day concluded with the final evaluation by the jury, in which Deusto also took part.
This participation in an international event reflects Deusto’s strong commitment to promoting artificial intelligence guided by the common good and aligned with the institution’s social mission. This approach is set out in the strategy published on the corporate website, which advocates for the ethical, critical and human-centred use of these technologies in teaching, research and knowledge transfer.
Initiatives like this reinforce the commitment to responsible AI, strengthen international collaboration, and contribute to the development of solutions that move society toward greater justice, diversity and awareness.
