Special Session 31

SPECIAL SESSION #31

Pratik Thantharate

SUNY Binghamton, New Jersey, US

• pthanth2@gmail.com

Dr. Rohit Abhishek

University of Missouri, Kansas City, US

• rabhishek@rabhishek.com

Shyam Bhojwani

Workato Inc., US

• bhojwani.shyam@gmail.com

This session aims to forge pathways for ethically grounded innovation in extended reality (XR) and brain-computer interface (BCI) ecosystems, focusing on privacy, fairness, and accountability with Artificial Intelligence (AI). We will explore innovative privacy-enhancing technologies tailored to biometric platforms, confidential computing paradigms in XR systems, and AI/ML algorithmic fairness, accountability, and transparency frameworks. Particular emphasis will be placed on tools and practices essential for auditing AI systems, alongside ethical standards and regulatory compliance. Discussions will also cover cloud-based architectures for AI-XR systems, workloads, reliability challenges, and the integration of large language model (LLM) architectures in XR environments. Through a lens of innovation and emerging trends, we plan to delve into experimental prototyping, testbeds for AI-XR integration, and the critical role of transparency and user agency. The session will highlight decentralized and collaborative architectures, underscoring the importance of community-driven approaches to ethical standards in immersive technology research. By bridging diverse research domains, this session seeks to provide comprehensive insights into the responsible advancement of AI and XR-BCI systems, prioritizing the well-being and protection of stakeholders across the spectrum.

The main topics are related, but not limited to:

• Privacy-enhancing technologies in Biometric Platforms;
• Confidential Computing in XR Systems;
• Algorithmic Fairness, Accountability, and Transparency;
• Tools and practices for auditing AI systems, ethical standards, and regulations;
• Cloud-based architecture, workloads, and reliability in AI-XR systems;
• Integrating LLM Architectures in XR;
• Innovations and Emerging Trends in XR Technologies and Applications;
• Experimental Prototyping and Testbeds in AI-XR;
• Transparency and User Agency in XR-AI Systems;
• Decentralized and Collaborative Architectures in XR-AI.

Pratik Thantharate, is a Principal Software Engineer and Researcher with over a decade of experience researching and developing solutions in Agile software development, Cybersecurity, AI, and DevOps. He specializes in continuous integration/continuous delivery, infrastructure as code, containerization, microservices, and end-to-end code to cloud security. He aims to drive innovation in next-generation DevOps platforms and observability frameworks through innovative research and enable rapid and reliable software delivery.

Dr. Rohit Abhishek, has led the telecommunications technology industry in several areas. He has worked on research projects aimed at developing new industry protocols, particularly in 3GPP, to enable organizations worldwide to provide Immersive Teleconferencing technology via their mobile networks. Dr Abhishek has helped to create several methodologies and solutions related to Immersive technologies and holographic media that are now patented (13 granted patents, more than 25 pending) to his name. He continues to advance technology by helping lead industry trends and finding technical solutions for advanced 5G networks and future 6G networks.

Shyam Bhojwani, has been leading IT, Automations, and Security Organizations for over 10+ years. He has built teams focused on seamless and secure Employee Experience with an automation-first mindset. He has led teams across different industries, from Wall Street Financial Tech Services, where he worked at Investment Technology Group (acquired by Virtu Financial Services), and later worked at the tech fitness eCommerce company Peloton Interactive Inc. He is the Director of Business Technology and Security Operations at Workato Inc., the integration automation platform.