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Andrew Lensen

Lecturer in Artificial Intelligence | Pūkenga, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington
Dr Andrew Lensen received the BSc, BSc (Hons 1st class), and PhD degrees in computer science from Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand, in 2015, 2016, and 2019, respectively. He is currently a Lecturer in Artificial Intelligence (Pūkenga) in the Evolutionary Computation Research Group within the School of Engineering and Computer Science at Victoria University of Wellington.

His current research interests are mainly in the use of evolutionary computation for feature manipulation in unsupervised learning, with a particular focus on the use of genetic programming for manifold learning, clustering, and feature synthesis. He also maintains an interest in other areas of AI, including neuroevolution, hybridisation of evolutionary and probabilistic AI techniques, and AI ethics and real-world applications.

NZ's political leaders are ignoring the mounting threats from AI – and that’s putting everyone at risk

Oct 06, 2023 02:46 am UTC| Technology

As the 2023 election campaign enters its final days, there is an elephant in the room that politicians seem keen to ignore: the rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and what it will mean for New Zealands economy, politics...

We built an algorithm that predicts the length of court sentences – could AI play a role in the justice system?

Nov 30, 2022 07:28 am UTC| Insights & Views

The rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI) has led to its deployment in courtrooms overseas. In China, robot judges decide on small claim cases, while in some Malaysian courts, AI has been used to recommend...

Economy

Western Pharma Shifts Focus from China to India Amid Rising Geopolitical Tensions

Western drugmakers are increasingly turning to alternative sources for drug production and clinical trials, shifting their attention away from Chinese contractors. According to industry experts and executives, this...

Stellantis and Italian Government Discuss Measures to Increase Car Production

Stellantis has initiated in-depth discussions with the Italian government with the primary objective of bolstering car production within the country. This collaborative effort aims to boost economic growth and streamline...

How governments use IMF bailouts to hurt political opponents – new research

Sri Lanka received a bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in March amid soaring inflation, debt and a sovereign default. In exchange for US$3 billion (2.4 billion), the government committed to spending...

The government just killed 50 infrastructure projects – what matters is whether it will fund them on merit from now on

The federal government has just announced a list of projects to be abandoned as a result of an independent strategic review of its infrastructure investment program. The review found the cost of the A$120 billion,...

Interim housing isn't just a roof and four walls. Good design is key to getting people out of homelessness

State governments across the country have plans to increase social and affordable housing to address ballooning waitlists. While necessary, this wont be enough to clear the backlog of people waiting for public...

Politics

What Joe Biden's meeting with Xi Jinping means for geopolitical tensions

U.S. President Joe Biden has engaged in a crucial face-to-face meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in San Francisco. This high-stakes diplomatic encounter was...

How a new identity-focused ideology has trapped the left and undermined social justice

Yasha Mounks new book, The Identity Trap: A Story of Ideas and Power in Our Time, explores a radical progressive ideology that has been taking the world by storm. From its unlikely beginnings in esoteric scholarly theories...

Rwanda plan: Rishi Sunak has insisted on pushing ahead – here's where he could take it next

The UK supreme court has ruled against the governments plan to deport some asylum seekers to Rwanda for processing. But this isnt the end of the story a version of the plan is likely to resurface in some form. The initial...

Myanmar’s military junta appears to be in terminal decline

Myint Swe, the acting president of Mynamars military government, has warned that the country will be split into various parts after his armed forces suffered huge territorial losses to resistance fighters recently. His...

China: why there has been a sudden 'surge' of antisemitism in the People's Republic

During the conflict between Hamas and Israel in Gaza, many nations have tried to maintain a neutral stance by not explicitly supporting either side. But despite attempts at balanced commentaries at the top of business and...

Science

NASA's first successful recovery of asteroid samples may reveal information about the origins of the universe

The OSIRIS-REx mission is NASAs first mission to collect samples from an asteroid in this case 101955 Bennu and return to Earth. OSIRIS-REx is an acronym for Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification,...

Did this chemical reaction create the building blocks of life on Earth?

How did life begin? How did chemical reactions on the early Earth create complex, self-replicating structures that developed into living things as we know them? According to one school of thought, before the current era...

Will Saturn's rings really 'disappear' by 2025? An astronomer explains

If you can get your hands on a telescope, there are few sights more spectacular than the magnificent ringed planet Saturn. Currently, Saturn is clearly visible in the evening sky, at its highest just after sunset. Its...

Specialized training programs using sensory augmentation devices could prevent astronauts from getting disoriented in space

When landing on the surface of the Moon, astronauts can become spatially disoriented, which is when they lose sense of their orientation they might not be able to tell which way is up. This disorientation can lead to...

Is some of the body that collided with Earth to form the Moon still recognisable inside our planet?

Scientists have dated the birth of the Solar System to about 4.57 billion years ago. About 60 million years later a giant impact collision between the infant Earth and a Mars-sized body called Theia created the...

Technology

European Tech Sector Faces Challenges and Shows Resilience Amid Global Economic Shifts

The European technology sector is navigating a challenging economic environment, as evidenced by recent data from venture capital firm Atomico. This year, European startups are expected to raise around $42 billion, a...

Hexa, Paris's Quiet Powerhouse in the Startup World

Tucked away in Paris, Hexa, a startup studio, has quietly made waves in the business-to-business (B2B) software realm. Though Hexa may not be a household name, its the force behind several successful unicorns like Front,...

Amazon Launches New Serverless Solutions to Simplify Database Management

Amazon recently unveiled its latest advancements in serverless technology during the AWS re:Invent conference in Las Vegas. These innovations aim to simplify the management of Aurora, Elastic Cache, and Redshift serverless...

Hussain Elius Ventures into DeFi with Wind.app

Hussain Elius, known for co-founding Pathao, one of Bangladeshs leading ride-sharing applications, is making strides into the decentralized finance (DeFi) space with his new venture, Wind.app. This smart contract wallet,...

Bitcoin Mining Enhances Energy Efficiency and Grid Stability, New Study Reveals

A recent study brings a different view of Bitcoin mining, highlighting its potential benefits for energy management and grid stability. This study, crafted by Bitcoin advocates and a former key figure in Texas electric...