07/08/2026
🎉 Congratulations to our very own, Dr. Carmelo S. del Castillo, for securing Third Place at the 2026 AI Fest AI Technical Conference Research Forum!
Their paper “AI-Readiness Audit of Public Shrimp Aquaculture Microbiome Records Using Human-in-the-Loop Metadata Verification,” was recognized for its significant contribution to advancing AI readiness in aquaculture research.
The study introduced a human-in-the-loop workflow for evaluating and improving the AI readiness of public shrimp aquaculture microbiome datasets, highlighting the critical role of metadata quality in enabling trustworthy AI applications in aquaculture.
Title:
AI-Readiness Audit of Public Shrimp Aquaculture Microbiome Records Using Human-in-the-Loop Metadata Verification
This study examined whether publicly available shrimp aquaculture microbiome datasets are sufficiently complete and well-described to support future artificial intelligence applications. Rather than developing a predictive AI model, the work addressed a more fundamental question: Are the available data ready for AI?
The study developed a structured AI-readiness audit workflow that combined automated metadata capture with human-in-the-loop verification of repository records (SRA, BioSample, BioProject, ENVO, and associated publications). Records were evaluated for metadata completeness, corrected where supporting information was available, and classified according to their suitability for future AI applications.
Major outputs included:
An AI-readiness classification framework for public shrimp aquaculture microbiome datasets.
Verification and correction of sample classifications and associated metadata.
Identification of critical metadata gaps limiting AI reuse.
Quantification of how manual expert verification improved AI readiness.
A reproducible workflow for assessing biological datasets before downstream AI development.
The work emphasizes that high-quality metadata are as important as sequence data for developing reliable AI systems in aquaculture, including future applications in disease surveillance, pond-health monitoring, decision support, and early-warning systems.
Key Facts
Conference: 2026 AI Fest AI Technical Conference Research Forum
Paper category: Regular Paper
Presentation: Oral Presentation
Authors:
Dr. Carmelo S. del Castillo
Joseph Francois Nguimbous Masso
Affiliation: ACCENTECX AI INC. (with University of the Philippines Visayas academic affiliation for Dr. del Castillo)
Conference theme: Artificial Intelligence and Applied Research
Research focus: AI-readiness, biological metadata quality, microbiome informatics, and human-in-the-loop verification.
