Chandigarh University Hosts International Conference on 'Secure and Trustworthy Artificial Intelligence Systems' (ICSTAIS-2026)

AI Can't Replace Human Judgment in Aviation; Human Intervention is Must, says Joyce Rodriguez, Head of Digital Cybersecurity

CHANDIGARH, India, June 25, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Chandigarh University hosted International Conference on 'Secure and Trustworthy Artificial Intelligence Systems' (ICSTAIS-2026), bringing together researchers, academicians, industry leaders, policymakers, and students to discuss emerging trends, challenges, and innovations in Artificial Intelligence, Cybersecurity, Privacy, and Digital Trust. The aim of the conference was to promote international collaborations, strengthen industry-academia partnerships, and showcase Chandigarh University's commitment to research excellence and innovation.

Organised by Chandigarh University's Apex Institute of Technology-Computer Science Engineering (AIT-CSE) department and Cybersecurity Centre of Excellence, Chandigarh University, ICSTAIS-2026 was graced by eminent national and international experts including chief guest Joyce Rodriguez, Head of Digital Cybersecurity, Airbus India, guest of honor Dr Murty Chandrapati, Scientist-G, CISO, ISEA National Coordinator & Centre Head, CDAC; former Air Vice Marshal (Dr) Devesh Vatsa VSM, Advisor Cyber Security & Critical Technologies, Data Security Council of India (DSCI)—NASSCOM; Prof (Dr) Raviraja N Seetharam, Vice-Chancellor, Chandigarh University; Prof (Dr) Raghuveer VR, Pro VC (academic affairs), Chandigarh University; Prof (Dr) Jagdish Chandra Patni, Executive Director  AIT-CSE, Chandigarh University; Ts Dr Shayla Islam, UCSI University, Malaysia and Prof Dr Anand Nayyar, Duy Tan University, Vietnam. The conference featured keynote lectures, plenary talks, technical sessions, research presentations and international publication collaborations. In all, 158 research papers were selected from 261 received from various universities across India for the Conference. Out of this, 63 research papers were presented during the ICSTAIS-2026.

In her keynote address, Chief guest Joyce Rodriguez, Head of Digital Cybersecurity, Airbus India, said, "AI is getting into realms of knowledge, language, creativity, reasoning and domains that we once thought was completely human, exclusively for humans. But technology, no matter how advanced, can't replace a human judgment. At the end of the day it's 'human in the loop' that is the most important thing no matter how advanced we are. The aviation industry has already reached quite a bit of advanced stage of technology adoption but when it comes to matters of safety, even regulators say that you know you cannot eliminate the human in the loop. So, you we have a simple 'four eyes principle' (a governance control that requires at least two people to review and approve any critical action before it takes effect). In our (aviation industry's) any design, we need to follow 'four eyes principle'. Human validation is required for every technology system in the aviation industry. So the human intelligence has to be far superior than the machine generated one."

"AI is comparable to one such moment in human history -- discovery of electricity.  So, when electricity was first harnessed, it didn't revolutionize the world. What changed and transformed human lives was the invention of the electric bulb. The machines took the invisible force that we call electricity and transformed lives to make human lives more easy, safer, convenient and dignified. So AI is that electricity today. AI in itself is not going to bring about a revolution. What's going to bring about a revolution is what we build with AI. So we should use AI to become a better version of ourselves. Let it help us learn faster, think deeper but we should not outsource our reasoning or thinking beyond it. So, AI should enhance human intelligence and not replace human wisdom, empathy and courage which are irreplaceable," she added.  

In his address, former Air Vice Marshal (Dr) Devesh Vatsa VSM, Advisor Cyber Security & Critical Technologies, DSCI—NASSCOM said, "AI is being used in all businesses, manufacturing, aviation and government departments including healthcare and educatio for enhancing effectiveness and efficiency. But as a AI integrates into critical societal and operational infrastructures, the ultimate measure of its success will not be how intelligent becomes but how much it is trusted.  Without adequate safeguards against cyberattacks, bias, privacy violations and autonomous risk, AI deployment threatens public trust and creates severe national and economic security liabilities."

"By combining technological innovation with strong governance, India is uniquely position to lead the world in responsible AI innovation. To achieve strategic dependence on AI, we need to create systems and capabilities. We will have to develop trusted supply chains, indigenous technologies, secure data sets, protective AI infrastructure and sovereign capabilities in critical technologies. This is very, very important," he added.

Guest of honor, Dr Murty Chandrapati, Scientist-G, CISO, ISEA National Coordinator & Centre Head, CDAC, said, "By seeing what your communication patterns, a LLM (Large Language Model) can easily identify that what you want to do ask.  All LMS are now memorizing about your thing. Whatever your access in last one year, a LLM can easily identify. So, that is the level of the things are happening due to privacy leakage and memorisation. The good thing is defenses exist for any attack (cyber) but we need similar infrastructure the way a AI system demands to beat it. So that is where we need to invest in two major things -  one is a computing infrastructure second one is the way the we program."

About Chandigarh University

Chandigarh University is a NAAC A+ Grade University and QS World Ranked University. This autonomous educational institution is approved by UGC and is located near Chandigarh in the state of Punjab. It is the youngest university in India and the only private university in Punjab to be honoured with A+ Grade by NAAC (National Assessment and Accreditation Council). CU offers more than 109 UG and PG programs in the field of engineering, management, pharmacy, law, architecture, journalism, animation, hotel management, commerce, and others. It has been awarded as The University with Best Placements by WCRC.

Website address: https://www.cuchd.in/

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