The emergence of artificial intelligence in the educational context presents great opportunities, but also poses unprecedented challenges. The European Union introduced the AI Act (EU Reg. 2024/1689) to establish a common regulatory framework, ensuring the safe and reliable use of AI systems. The key points relating to education are:
Children interact with AI technologies through a variety of devices, such as smart toys, virtual assistants, video games, and adaptive learning platforms. While these innovations offer significant advantages, they also present substantial risks to children's privacy, safety, and overall well-being due to their inherent vulnerability which stems from their “lack of psychophysical maturity and corresponding legal incapacity”[1].
The rise of restrictive data access policies, commonly referred to as the APIcalypse, has significantly impacted researchers' ability to collect and analyse data from social media platforms.
Recommendation systems and assistants (in short recommenders) have become integral to our daily interactions on online platforms. These algorithms suggest items or provide solutions based on users' preferences or requests, influencing almost every aspect of our digital experience. From guiding our social connections on platforms like Facebook and Instagram to recommending products on Amazon and mapping routes on Google Maps, recommenders shape our decisions and interactions instantaneously and profoundly.
Starting on 11 June 2024, Rennes hosted the TNC24 (https://tnc24.geant.org/), the largest and most prestigious research and education networking conference. SoBigData, with Sara Lelli and Valerio Grossi, was there to present training initiatives related to the research infrastructure.
As the "Empowering Data for Social Good" summer school comes to a close, we reflect on an incredible week filled with learning, collaboration, and groundbreaking ideas. The final session, where students presented their innovative research projects, was a fitting conclusion to an inspiring event.
This Blog shares my experience visiting the KDD research lab at the National Research Council (CNR) in Pisa. The lab has knowledge discovery and data mining expertise for efficient mobility-based social services (e.g., transportation, human mobility). Dr. Mirco Nanni and his team hosted me for a two-week visit to their research lab. The team has expertise in sequential data analytics and the development of explainable and trustworthy models.
In the past year I had the great pleasure of visiting Universitat Pompeu Fabra, and my friend and colleague Professor Carlos (Chato) Castillo, to work on Modelling and Measuring Algorithmic Bias and Fairness. My visit had two parts, one in April of 2023 and one in February of 2024. This was the first time I visited the UPF Campus, and I was very impressed by the industrial and urban design of the buildings and the neighbourhood, as well as by the energetic and relaxed atmosphere of the campus.
Over the last eight weeks, from January 15th to March 9th 2024, I had the great pleasure of visiting Pisa as a guest at the esteemed National Research Council (CNR), hosted by Dr. Maurizio Tesconi and his team at the Cyber Intelligence Lab. There, I closely collaborated with members of the lab, including Lorenzo Mannocci, Serena Tardelli and Stefano Cresci, on integrating multilayer network methodologies for identifying coordinated behaviour in social networks.