FARI - AI for the Common Good Institute

Learn more 👉 buff.ly/FSD4SVI

🇪🇸 Last week, FARI joined the @AI4Gov-X consortium meeting in Madrid, a key moment to align efforts as the project moves from development to scaling.

It was also the launch of MagiX, the first European master’s programme combining AI, Data Spaces & Digital Government for civil servants.

AI is already in the room, but are we talking about it enough? AI creates opportunities, but also doubts and important questions.That is exactly why we the Cafés IAssos are created. The first session is getting closer, so reserve your spot here: buff.ly/lJgdgIe

Interdisciplinary Research In Societal challenges IRIS is a postdoctoral programme cofunded by the Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), and the European Commission.

Postdoc opportunity in Brussels! 🚀

The IRIS programme (ULB, VUB & the European Commission) opens its 2nd call: 18 postdoctoral positions and 30-month fellowships in Brussels.

Interested in working with FARI – AI for the Common Good? Reach out!
Deadline: 30 June 2026
🔗 buff.ly/r7qQeeU

How do modern AI systems actually work? Join FARI’s 3-day training on Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG)

📅 Mar 18 — Foundations of RAG
📅 Mar 24–25 — Build a RAG pipeline (hands-on with LangChain)

For developers, AI engineers, IT & public sector professionals.

Register here 👉 buff.ly/V49AZFD

🎉 We are excited to welcome Hita to the FARI team as our new Program Coordinator for the FARI #AIAccelerator. She is particularly motivated to help bridge research and practice, ensuring that technological progress remains aligned with societal values, transparency, and long-term public interest.

For the RADAR-aim Project, we are currently developing innovative educational approaches that connect AI and sustainability in higher education and professional training. To ensure that these learning solutions truly reflect the needs, we need your input. Fill in the survey:

Algorithmes en Europe : la transparence comme enjeu démocratique .Les algorithmes sont omniprésents dans nos vies quotidiennes : accès aux droits, services publics, plateformes numériques, priorisation des contenus ou prise de décision automatisée. Pourtant, ils…

Check out the new blog post from the European project ALGO-LIT on algorithmic transparency. What is the point of algorithmic transparency if the people concerned have no real means of challenging the decisions that affect them? Read the blogn(in French) here:

>20km from Brussels? Financial support available: buff.ly/GQwUu7v

Are you a social economy SME curious about how AI can help you? 🚀
Join us at FARI on March 17 in Brussels during #AIWeek for a hands-on Immersive AI Journey: AR/VR CAVE visit, AI & Robotics demos, Data Walk & panel on European AI sovereignty. Free (registration required): buff.ly/e4bPS5d

FARI AI Happy Hour | Intelligence emerges at the edge of chaos Join us on March 30 at 17:30 for AI Happy Hour at FARI to learn more about AI.

Join us at FARI on March 30 for our next AI Happy Hour with Andries Rosseau (AI Lab, @VUB).

He will explore the “edge of chaos”, the critical balance where complex systems adapt best. Applied to AI, this could enable continual learning, but also amplify safety risks.

👉 Register:

How can we grasp the challenges shaping public debate in 2026? 💭

#DeVooruitblik (VRT) brings together researchers including 11 from @VUB to analyse global trends. Among the contributors are three professors linked to FARI: Ine Van Zeeland, Andres Algaba & Ann Nowe.

Watch it here: buff.ly/br4M496

We are excited to see FARI represented at the "Soirée de l'IA à l'ULB" on 1 April 2026 at 18:00 CEST. The event brings together researchers, artists, teachers, students and citizens for an evening to step back and look clearly at what is happening with AI. Registrations here: buff.ly/NCDyoS5

Join us at FARI on March 24–25 for an advanced, hands-on RAG training for developers, AI engineers & technical teams.💡

Day 1: RAG architecture & design choices.
Day 2: Build, debug & optimise a full RAG pipeline with LangChain.

👉 Register now: buff.ly/PDTJbMP

EU AI Week 2026 - Construire une souveraineté européenne en matière d’IA | BOSA Du 16 au 22 mars 2026, la European AI Week (EU AI Week) interrogera notre capacité à développer, maîtriser et déployer des solutions d’IA de confiance, alignées avec les valeurs européennes et…

#AIWeek2026 is almost here and at FARI we are proud to take part in five events throughout the week 🚀 We are looking forward to meet the Belgian AI Community during the AI Week 2026, come connect with our team! 📆 Discover part of the agenda:

AI is revolutionizing our professions, our practices, and our values. And the social and solidarity economy cannot remain on the sidelines. Designed for and by SSE actors, these cafés place our realities at the heart of the debate on AI. Multiple dates in BE and FR. Register here: buff.ly/zmKvqqj

@laurajousset.bsky.social

Step into a VR opera experience 🎶 From 5–19 March, Bozar presents "From Dust", an immersive VR installation by Michel van der Aa.

Blending electronic soundscapes with the vocal ensemble Sjaella, it explores the boundaries between music, storytelling, technology, and art.

Tickets: buff.ly/kLUfizv

Join us on March 12, 2026 at UZ Brussel for the closing event of the #LASO project! 🏥
Discover a practical methodology for trustworthy & responsible AI in hospitals, real test cases, and tools to de-risk innovation.

Free event, register here 👉 buff.ly/0MaKzcM

Want to better understand how today’s AI systems work? 🚀

On March 18, FARI hosts “Foundations of Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG)”.
Learn how LLMs generate text, why hallucinations happen, and how RAG systems are built.

Part of a 3-day series (Mar 18, 24–25).

👉 Register: buff.ly/N3t1b42

Women shaping science | Exhibition | 11 February - 6 March 2026 A photography exhibition featuring powerful images of female VUB academics by Belgian photographer Lieve Blancquaert.

Making women in science visible. From 11 Feb–6 Mar 2026, @VUBrussel presents "Women Shaping Science" a photography exhibition highlighting women researchers shaping science & society. It features portraits by Lieve Blancquaert, including Ann Nowe & Gloria González Fuster. 🖼️

More:

What if AI is not just a story of rapid breakthroughs? Researchers from @VUBrussel, Luc Steels, Ann Dooms & Remi van Trijp, call for greater epistemic diversity in AI, seeing it as an evolving ecosystem of ideas.

👉 More plural thinking = more resilient AI.

📖 Read more: buff.ly/AM4e5Yi

FARI Brussels Conference 2025 - Hugues Bersini | Farewell talk As FARI’s co-founder and long-time advocate for responsible and human-centered AI, Hugues Bersini has played a pivotal role in shaping both the institute’s vision and the wider academic community. As…

One of FARI’s co-founders, Hugues Bersini shares his reflections from a rich career; looking back at key lessons learned and forward to the challenges that lie ahead. Watch the closing talk by Professor Hugues Bersini at the FARI Brussels Conference 2025 here:

FARI AI Happy Hour | An Immersive Courtroom Digital Twin Join us on February 23 at 17:30 for AI Happy Hour at FARI to learn more about AI.

Free to attend (registration required)
👉 Register now to secure your spot: www.eventbrite.be/e/fari-ai-ha...

After the talk, stay for a casual happy hour with snacks, drinks, and great conversations with fellow professionals and AI enthusiasts.

📍 FARI Test & Experience Center, Cantersteen 16, 1000 Brussels
🕠 Monday, February 23 at 17:30 CEST

Our speaker, Sébastien Meeùs (PhD researcher in Law at Université libre de Bruxelles & Université de Montréal), will present the VIRAJ project and demonstrate the latest advances.

Together, we will explore both the opportunities and the challenges: from improving access to justice and supporting legal training, to raising concerns about fairness, the “wow effect” of visual evidence, and the digital divide.

This session will explore how immersive technologies such as #VR, 3D modeling, and AI-powered conversational agents are being used to build a “digital twin” of the justice system.

But what does this mean in practice for the future of law and judicial processes?

Can #AI and virtual reality transform the justice system? ⚖️🤖

Join us on Monday, February 23 at 17:30 for our next AI Happy Hour, an evening of learning, discussion, and networking at FARI #Brussels.

FARI Brussels Conference 2025 - Regulating and governing AI and Robotic agents This session will focus on the current challenges of regulating and governing AI and robotic agents. As these systems increasingly influence decisions in various domains, the question of how to…

As AI and robotic agents take on a growing role, the question is no longer whether to govern them; but how. We are pleased to share the session “Regulating and Governing AI and Robotic Agents”, recorded at the FARI Brussels Conference 2025. Watch here: