The Graduate School of Hasanuddin University (UNHAS) held an international guest lecture entitled “Trustworthy AI for Critical Systems and Health Innovation” on Friday, 11 September 2026. Conducted online via Zoom, the session featured Professor Alan Wee-Chung Liew, Head of the School of Information and Communication Technology at Griffith University, Australia. The lecture brought together students, faculty members, researchers, healthcare professionals, and participants from various institutions.
Dean of the Graduate School, Prof. Sukri Palutturi, S.KM., M.Kes., M.Sc.PH., Ph.D., emphasized in his opening remarks that artificial intelligence (AI) is among the most rapidly evolving technologies today and is increasingly being applied across many fields, including healthcare. He noted that the academic community needs to understand not only the potential benefits of AI, but also the challenges and risks associated with its use. Furthermore, he explained that the guest lecture formed part of the Graduate School’s efforts to strengthen the internationalization of education and research. “Hasanuddin University continues to expand its internationalization programs through various initiatives, including visiting professors, international conferences, joint research, and collaborative publications,” he said. He also expressed hope that the session would create opportunities for broader collaboration between UNHAS and Griffith University.
Meanwhile, Prof. Liew explained that AI capabilities have advanced rapidly alongside developments in deep learning, large language models, generative AI, and agentic AI. However, he stressed that high model accuracy alone is not sufficient to ensure the safe deployment of AI in real-world settings. “High accuracy is necessary, but it is not enough to guarantee the successful deployment of AI. The more important question is whether AI can be used responsibly under real-world conditions,” Prof. Liew explained. He noted that AI has increasingly become part of critical infrastructure and is now used in healthcare, industry, government, banking, and other public systems. Failures in these areas can lead to operational, ethical, financial, and even safety-related consequences. For this reason, trustworthy AI systems must be reliable, explainable, robust, secure against attacks, capable of protecting privacy, and supported by clear accountability mechanisms.
In healthcare, AI offers significant potential to support early diagnosis, personalized treatment, large-scale medical image analysis, and patient risk prediction. At the same time, its use introduces risks such as bias, misinterpretation, privacy breaches, and recommendations that may not align with a patient’s actual clinical condition. “AI in healthcare presents both opportunities and risks. If it is not developed carefully, bias and misinterpretation can cause or even amplify harm to patients,” Prof. Liew said. Prof. Liew also introduced research conducted through Griffith University’s TrustAGI Lab and AI for Health Lab. The research spans medical imaging, pathology, dermatology, neuroscience, health informatics, electronic health records, and AI-assisted clinical decision-making. One project focuses on using AI to help predict intervention outcomes for children with cerebral palsy by combining health data with causal reasoning approaches.
The discussion session, moderated by Dr. Wahyuni, M.Kes., explored how health researchers with limited experience in AI can begin developing AI-related research. In response, Prof. Liew emphasized the importance of multidisciplinary collaboration. “The best approach is to bring together healthcare professionals who understand the clinical problem and AI scientists who have the technical expertise. The two fields need to work together to develop systems that can truly be implemented and make an impact,” he said.
Finally, Prof. Sukri welcomed the potential for collaboration between the Graduate School of UNHAS and Griffith University in education, research, and scientific publication. With 17 study programs covering areas including environmental science, biomedicine, biomedical engineering, transportation management, midwifery, and development studies, the Graduate School offers strong potential for multidisciplinary AI research relevant to the needs of Indonesian society. Through the international guest lecture, the Graduate School reaffirmed its commitment to preparing the academic community to respond critically and responsibly to rapid developments in digital technology. The session underscored that progress in AI should be accompanied by transparency, security, privacy protection, accountability, and strong governance to ensure that technological innovation contributes safely and equitably to improved healthcare.