The Department of Computer Science at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG) is pleased to announce that Professor Shan Suthaharan will present five accepted papers at the prestigious SPIE Optics + Photonics 2026, to be held August 23–27, 2026, at the San Diego Convention Center. These papers will be presented at Emerging Topics in Artificial Intelligence (ETAI) 2026 and Applications of Machine Learning 2026 conferences, highlighting advances in Human Gradient Artificial Intelligence (HGAI), Explainable AI (XAI), CNN interpretability, and Colony of AI systems.
A central highlight of these contributions is Human Gradient Artificial Intelligence (HGAI), a framework that introduces a paradigm shift in how artificial intelligence is conceptualized and developed. HGAI redefines intelligence from a static, trained model to a continuous, evolving process, where systems dynamically monitor, adapt, and refine their own learning behavior. This approach enables self-aware learning systems capable of tracking confidence, knowledge updates, and adaptation over time.
“Static models learn; gradient intelligence evolves.”
Accepted Papers and Presentations
- Shan Suthaharan, Human Gradient Artificial Intelligence for Self-Aware Learning Systems, Emerging Topics in Artificial Intelligence (ETAI) 2026.
- Keerthi Devireddy and Shan Suthaharan, Probability-Based Thresholding for Guided Perturbation Sampling in Explainable AI, Emerging Topics in Artificial Intelligence 2026.
- Srisowmya Gottipati and Shan Suthaharan, Herbs Identification Using Classification and Feature-Map Clustering with Explainability, Applications of Machine Learning 2026.
- Saranya Pettela and Shan Suthaharan, SeDEx: A Feature-Map-Aware Semantic Density Explainer for CNN Models, Applications of Machine Learning 2026.
- Dilaksan Thirugnanaselvam and Shan Suthaharan, An Approach to Understanding LLM Parent-AI Agents for an LLM-Based Colony of AI, Applications of Machine Learning 2026.
These papers reflect strong collaboration with UNCG graduate students Keerthi Devireddy, Saranya Pettela, and Srisowmya Gottipati, and an international student researcher Dilaksan Thirugnanaselvam, demonstrating department’s commitment to mentoring and advancing student-led research in cutting-edge areas of artificial intelligence. Professor Suthaharan’s participation in these conferences underscores the department’s continued leadership in advancing innovative, scientifically grounded, and human-centered AI research at the national and international levels.
Congratulations to Professor Shan Suthaharan and his students!
