Ingmar Weber
Alexander von Humboldt Professor for AI, Saarland University, Germany
Title: Out There & In Here - From Satellite Imagery to LLMs for Social Good
Abstract:
This talk offers a rare “two‑for‑the‑price‑of‑one” format by combining two strands of my current work. First, I examine data from “out there” - earth‑observation satellite imagery. Thanks to advances in rocket reuse, the number of “eyes in the sky” has increased rapidly, and computational techniques for interpreting this imagery have also made major leaps. I will provide an overview of types of satellite imagery and illustrate their use in detecting tax fraud, exposing the impacts of racist housing policies, and mapping real‑time mobility patterns. I will also highlight emerging privacy risks - often unknown to the general public - for which no opt‑out mechanisms currently exist. Second, I explore how large language models (LLMs) can support education and potentially influence behaviour. I will share examples such as: providing political education ahead of elections; evaluating how Afghan women use LLMs in their compelled online programming education; and investigating how LLMs might foster empathy toward individuals with different perspectives. A unifying theme across both strands is the exploration of how new data and new methods can be used both for computing _of_ society and for computing _for_ society.
Biography:
Ingmar Weber holds the Chair for Societal Computing at Saarland University. In 2022 he was awarded an Alexander von Humboldt Professorship for AI - Germany’s most valuable research award. He is interested in both computing _of_ society, i.e. measuring and understanding societal phenomena through non-traditional data sources, and computing _for_ society, i.e. working with non-profit partners to apply the gained insights. He is currently co-leading a EUR29M interdisciplinary initiative on these topics.
Francesco Buccafurri
University Mediterranea of Reggio Calabria, Italy.
Title: Security, Privacy, and Trust: From Social Networks to the Digital Society
Abstract:
Challenges such as detecting impersonation, safeguarding anonymity, and ensuring the reliability of interaction signals have driven the development of advanced models for trust, privacy, and security in social platforms. This keynote will connect different strands of research—from combining trust metrics with biometric signals to mitigate the risk of compromised profiles, to enabling anonymous yet secure communication in proximity-based services, to refining engagement indicators for greater informational value. These ideas extend naturally to contexts where digital interactions must be both secure and verifiable, including remote authentication and identity assurance for public services. The talk will conclude with a brief reflection on how advances in Artificial Intelligence, including Large Language Models, may influence these themes in the near future.
Biography:
Francesco Buccafurri is a Full Professor of Computer Science at the University Mediterranea of Reggio Calabria, Italy. He received his Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of Calabria in 1995. In 1996, he was a visiting researcher at the Database and Knowledge Representation Group at the Vienna University of Technology. His research interests include cybersecurity, privacy, digital identity, applied cryptography, e-government, blockchain, social networks, deductive databases, knowledge representation and non-monotonic reasoning, model checking, data compression, data streams, intelligent agents, and peer-to-peer systems. He has published more than 220 papers in top-tier international journals and conference proceedings. He regularly serves as a referee for international journals and is a member of numerous conference program committees. Francesco Buccafurri is Associate Editor of the Journal of Information Security and Applications (Elsevier), Information Sciences (Elsevier), and IEEE Transactions on Industrial Informatics. He also serves on the editorial boards of several other international journals and has acted as program chair or committee member for many international conferences. He is a Senior Member of the IEEE Computer Society.
Jim Jansen
Principal Scientist, Qatar Computing Research Institute, Qatar
Title: The Journey of Journal Publishing
Abstract:
Publishing a research article is a journey! We will discuss challenges and advice on preparing, submitting, and revising research manuscripts to increase the probability of acceptance at a top-tier journal. The insights are based on my experiences as editor-in-chief (EIC) of three journals, the first being Internet Research (Emerald, Impact Factor of 3.0 at the end of my tenure), the second being the interim editor of International Journal of Information Management (Elsevier) and currently of Information Processing & Management (Elsevier, Impact Factor of 7.4). The focus will be on the mechanics of the journey, including cover letters, items on a manuscript checklist, what happens to your manuscript once submitted, handling communication with the EIC and other editors, the crafting of the response to the reviewers, the revising of the manuscript, and polishing the accepted article. We will also touch on the influence of citations, impact factors, and the contribution of reviewing the academic research process in what will hopefully be a discussion more than a presentation. The takeaways will be tactics to improve your chances for a top-tier journal acceptance.
Biography:
Jim Jansen is a Principal Scientist at the Qatar Computing Research Institute working on automatically visualizing user data. He is a West Point graduate with a Ph.D. in computer science from Texas A&M University. Professor Jansen is editor-in-chief of Information Processing & Management, former interim editor-in-chief of the International Journal of Information Management, and former editor-in-chief of Internet Research. He has received several awards and honors, including an ACM Research Award, six application development awards, a product innovation award, and a university-level teaching award, along with other writing, publishing, research, teaching, and leadership honors. Dr. Jansen has authored or co-authored nearly 400 research publications, with articles appearing in a multi- disciplinary range of journals and conferences. He is a co-author of the books Data-Driven Personas (Springer Nature) and Understanding Audiences, Customers, and Users via Analytics (Springer Nature). For more information, see https://www.bernardjjansen.com
Johanna Pirker
Technical University of Munich, Germany
Title: When Players Connect: Social Network Analysis in Games Research
Abstract:
Games are not only technological artifacts but also social systems, where communities of players, developers, and streamers create complex interaction networks. By applying methods of Social Network Analysis (SNA) to games research, we can uncover how player communities form, how knowledge spreads, and how influence, collaboration, and toxicity emerge in digital play spaces. This talk explores the intersection of SNA and games research, drawing on case studies from multiplayer games, streaming platforms, and streaming communities. This knowledge is not only valuable for gamers but also helps us learn more about complex social structures in general.
Biography:
Johanna Pirker is a professor at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and at Graz University of Technology (TU Graz). Her research focuses on games with an emphasis on AI, HCI, games research, and VR technologies. She has extensive experience in designing, developing, and evaluating games and VR experiences and sees them as powerful tools to support learning, collaboration, and solving real-world problems.
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