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Professor Emeritus and former Rector of the Technical University of Crete, Yannis A. Phillis was recipient of a Medal of Honor at the World Automation Congress (WAC2024) which took place in Cancún, Mexico from 22 to 25 September 2024. Its theme was machine learning and artificial intelligence. The award was bestowed upon the honoree "For excellent contributions to production engineering management and very high-level leadership in engineering." Professor Phillis also gave a keynote talk entitled "On a mathematical theory of sustainability assessment and decision making."

At the award-giving ceremony Professor Phillis addressed the audience as follows:

 "Ladies and gentlemen good evening. I would like to thank for their support and kindness Founding Chair, Professor Mo Jamshidi as well as all the members of the Organizing Committee who made this Congress a reality.

The theme of the Congress is machine learning and artificial intelligence, but I also noticed some specific topics such as circular economy, climate change, community safety, smart living.

We've made tremendous progress in science and technology in just a few decades. However, we shouldn't ignore the shortcomings of this progress. I am talking about aspects hinted at in the previous topics. We cannot be proud of the anthropogenic climate crisis, the chaotic economic inequalities among countries and citizens, the irreversible ecological disasters that threaten our very existence, the obscenity of resolving national or international disputes and grudges through war. It occasionally seems that with time we become more and more intelligent and less and less wise.

We cannot provide technical fixes to such problems and then lay back ignoring politics and human nature. Science cannot be apolitical. We have an enormous amount of interdisciplinary work ahead if we want our society to be sustainable.

But I'll go one step further. All these years I have come to the realization that, important as our material world might be, the most permanent things in life do not contain ordinary matter as gadgets and cars and cell phones do; they do not contain molecules and atoms but something that our advanced and, mind you, material brains conceive in a totally different vein. I am speaking of beauty, friendship, camaraderie, love - the deepest essence of humanity.

And this gathering here tonight has it all.

Thank you, indeed!"

The audience gave Professor Phillis an enthusiastic standing ovation.