By Trine Jensen, AAU Communication & Public Affairs

About the SAIL project
The SAIL-project has been awarded a grant from VILLUM FONDEN, as part of The Villum Synergy Programme. SAIL is a synergy project by Niels van Berkel, Human-Centered Computing Group, Department of Computer Science and Carolijn van Noort, Centre for Blue Governance, Department of Sustainability and Planning. The project combines their expertise to address theoretical and empirical questions about the integration of artificial intelligence (AI)-based decision support systems in port digitalisation. SAIL studies ports at different stages of technology adoption, to identify stage-specific barriers to organizational change and effective human-computer interaction.

- Combining expertise from Computer Science and Social Science, the project seeks to develop the necessary tools to support decision making in critical, real-time, physical contexts. SAIL studies ports at different stages of technology adoption, to identify stage-specific barriers to organizational change and effective human-computer interaction. The outcomes of this project will augment individual and organizational decision-making capacities and support organizational change and digitalization, explains Carolijn van Noort (PLAN) and Niels van Berkel (CS).

The interdisciplinary potential of collaboration
SAIL emphasizes the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration in tackling the challenges of AI-based decision support systems in the real world.

- By integrating qualitative methods from Social Science with empirical investigations from Computer Science, we gain a comprehensive understanding about the integration of artificial intelligence (AI)-based decision support systems in ports. Through this interdisciplinary approach, the project provides a comprehensive and synergistic evaluation of the multiple stages of technology adoption and technology readiness, says Carolijn van Noort and Niels van Berkel.

Contributions to Computer Science and Social Science
The Villum Synergy grant will allow Niels van Berkel to contribute to Computer Science with new insights on how to increase the decision-making capabilities of end-users in complex dynamic contexts by building on his expertise in intelligent decision-support systems. In addition, the grant enables Carolijn van Noort to provide novel contributions to Social Science on how to increase the technology readiness of small and medium-size ports to adopt AI, extending her expertise in ontological security, communication, digitalization, and organizational change.

- For ports which are AI frontrunners, we will generate novel insights regarding decision-support systems to augment human-decision making capabilities. For ports with low technology readiness, we will map barriers to digital transformation and identify drivers to increase AI adoption” tells Carolijn van Noort and Niels van Berkel.