- Hcitaly - ISTI

PhD Position in Virtual Agents in Cross Reality

by Adalberto Simeone

We have an opening for a PhD position in the domain of Virtual Agents in Cross-Reality. Funding is available for one year initially, but the candidate will be actively supported in applying for external funding. PhD Position in Virtual Agents in Cross-Reality (ref. BAP-2024-623) Deadline: 11/10/2024 For more info, refer to https://www.kuleuven.be/personeel/jobsite/jobs/60387872?lang=en or via email to adalberto.simeone(a)kuleuven.be The ARIA team (Artificial Realities and Interactive Ambients) … [View More]in the Human-Computer-Interaction section of the department of Computer Science at KU Leuven studies the behaviour of users in interactive Virtual Environments, with the aim of improving the experience of users immersed in them. The lab is internationally renown for its radical new ideas and pioneering work in the domain of Virtual, Augmented, and Mixed Reality (XR), having published at top venues in the HCI and XR fields. At ARIA we seek not only to understand how we can improve the fundamental components of interaction in immersive environments, but also how to push the boundaries of XR itself so that it might open up new possibilities that did not exist before. At ARIA, the greatest asset we seek in a researcher is the ability to be creative and have a vision of a better future. We are also fully integrated in the network of European and International XR research and collaborate often with other top researchers in the field. Unit website<https://aria.cs.kuleuven.be/> Project Powered by recent advancements in modern AI techniques such as Large Language Models, Virtual Agents (also known as Virtual Characters or Virtual Humans) are poised to be the next step in this evolution. An Embodied Virtual Agent distinguishes themselves from "regular" chatbots as it is an AI "construct" that exists in an immersive environments, therefore it possesses a body (or avatar) and can interact with the environment, with other agents, and with human users. Virtual Agents will represent a fundamental characteristic of our lives in the society of the near future: they will become widely present as assistants, helpers, friends and companions. However, the current state-of-the-art in terms of approaches to "drive" the behaviour of a Virtual Agent still has large potential for improvement. Modern computer games that features so-called "Non-playing Characters" (NPCs) typically do not offer opportunities for substantial meaningful interactions with users, as they largely act in static roles. Conversely, research prototypes do not always feature populated environments, even when the subject of the study takes place in places where our real-world experience would tell us that it is very likely to encounter other people in such public settings (for example as in a virtual train station or a virtual museum). The candidate will thus study how modern AI techniques can enhance the believability, or the feeling of actually "being there" in the environment depicted by the virtual experience. We seek to understand what kind of behaviour a virtual agent should exhibit to enhance the overall feeling of a realistic experience. This will involve an investigation of how Virtual Agents can be integrated as (virtual) "extras" in public settings: what behaviours should they exhibit, what interactions should they be able to perform with the environment, with other agents, and with human users. Successively, we seek to understand what aspects are of greater importance when such Virtual Agents take secondary roles in an immersive experience, such as the ability to sustain short circumstantial conversations or interactions with human users. We offer a full-time PhD scholarship of one (1) year. The candidate will be expected to actively seek and work towards the attainment of further external funding to support the continuation of the PhD, in terms of writing a research proposal. The candidate will be supported by the supervisor, as well as the rest of the ARIA team, in this effort. The candidate will also be expected to contribute to the supervision of Master's students and a limited amount of teaching support activities. Profile * The candidate must have a Master's degree in Computer Science or neighbouring fields, obtained no more than three years ago. Experience that relates to Human-Computer Interaction, VR, or 3D Interaction is desirable. * Candidates must have excellent demonstrable programming skills, especially in what concerns the development of 3D applications, such as with Unity or Unreal Engine. * They must be proficient in oral and written English, possess excellent communication skills, and be creative, team-oriented, proactive and result driven. * The positions can start immediately. * Interested candidates should send their CV, their transcripts, contact information of at least 2 referees, and a motivation letter using the KU Leuven system. The motivation letter should clearly outline the candidate's interests in VR and Virtual Agents and their thoughts for potential research in that direction. * Including in the motivation letter links to code repositories or videos of examples of prior work on 3D applications (be them VR, AR, or also desktop 3D application) is highly recommended. Offer * A one-year PhD scholarship, extendible upon successful attainment of external funding for up to three more years, for a total of four years. * A stimulating environment in one of Europe's most renowned and innovative universities, in a well-equipped research team of international reputation. * Access to state-of-the-art motion tracking and VR laboratories, equipped with 16 Vicon cameras, tracking equpment, hi-end VR workstations and head-mounted displays. * The research will be based at the Department of Computer Science at the Arenberg Campus in Heverlee (just outisde to city centre of Leuven). Interested? For more information please contact Prof. dr. Adalberto Simeone, tel.: +32 16 37 71 59, mail: adalberto.simeone(a)kuleuven.be. You can apply for this job no later than October 11, 2024 via the online application tool<http://www.kuleuven.be/eapplyingforjobs/light/60387872> https://www.kuleuven.be/personeel/jobsite/jobs/60387872?lang=en -- Adalberto L. Simeone Associate Professor ARIA - Artificial Realities and Interactive Ambients https://aria.cs.kuleuven.be<https://aria.cs.kuleuven.be/> Department of Computer Science, KU Leuven https://www.adalsimeone.me<https://www.adalsimeone.me/> [View Less]

10 months, 3 weeks

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38th IEEE International Symposium on Computer-Based Medical Systems (CBMS 2025) :Call for Special Tracks

by Announce

*** Call for Special Tracks *** 38th IEEE International Symposium on Computer-Based Medical Systems (IEEE CBMS 2025) June 18-20, 2025, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM), Madrid, Spain https://2025.cbms-conference.org Attracting a worldwide audience, CBMS is the premier conference for computer-based medical systems, and one of the main conferences within the fields of medical informatics and biomedical informatics. IEEE CBMS 2025 invites proposals for organization of special tracks … [View More]that will be held in parallel with the general conference track. The themes of the special tracks should not overlap with the general conference topics and should focus on emerging research fields. All tracks are expected to enable stimulating discussions of state-of-the-art, emerging, visionary, and perhaps controversial topics. Their papers should report on significant unpublished work and must meet the same standards as main conference papers. All accepted papers will be included in the conference proceedings. We expect all accepted tracks to adhere to the conference paper submission and reviewing schedule, as outlined in the dates indicated below. Special Tracks chair(s) will be interacting with organisers of accepted workshops to ensure a high-quality workshop program. In the case of detecting several similar submissions, the CBMS 2025 organization can propose the fusion of those proposals. Special Track requirements The organizers of a special track must comply with a set of principles and obligations, listed below: • A specific webpage with information about the special track will be created by CBMS after the acceptance notification. The organizers must provide the following information to be added to such webpage: special track description, list of topics, call for papers, submission information (must be the same as CBMS 2025 regular track), special track organizers, special track program committee members, any other relevant information. • The organizers of the special track are responsible for the peer-review process within their track. They must add their own Program committee members/reviewers to the submission platform, ensure that receive all the reviews on time, check the quality of the reviews, and establish the acceptance/rejection decision. The final decision will be sent by CBMS 2025 PC Chairs. They also must pay special attention to potential conflicts of interest and ensure that all the general ethical rules of research are followed. • At least one of the organizers of the special track must register and attend to CBMS 2025 in Madrid. The organizer(s) who attend CBMS will also chair the specific session that will be assigned in the agenda to their track. • The organizers of the special track are responsible for the publicity of their track to try to win as many submissions as possible. Please bear in mind that a special track with less than 4 accepted papers could be canceled. In this case, the accepted papers will be moved to the regular track. Important Dates • Deadline for special track proposal: November 8, 2024 (AoE) • Special track notification acceptance: November 15, 2024 Submission Guidelines Each proposal must include: • Special track title • Rough estimate of the expected ST size as number of sessions (with 4-5 papers per session) • A brief biography of ST organizer(s) • List of Special Track program committee members • A draft of Special Track “Call for papers” (important dates must be the same of the main conference) • One or two appropriate journals or follow up publications: tracks are expected to organize a special issue, if planned. The proposal must be sent to info[at]cbms-conference[dot]org CBMS 2025 Special Track Chairs • Alba García Seco de Herrera • Gilberto Ochoa-Ruiz • Sharib Ali Other Information For more information, please contact info[at]cbms-conference[dot]org. [View Less]

10 months, 3 weeks

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Early-bird registration for ICMI 2024

by Gwenn Englebienne

Dear all, This is a friendly reminder that the early-bird registration for this year's ICMI conference closes tomorrow, 20 September. For more information, please visit https://icmi.acm.org/2024/registration/ https://icmi.acm.org/2024/registration/ Apologies for cross-posting!

10 months, 4 weeks

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Save the Date: ACDL 2025, 8th Advanced Course on Data Science & Machine Learning - From Deep Learning to Large Language Models & Multimodal Foundation Models | June 9-13 | Riva del Sole Resort & SPA - Italy -> Early Registration: by 23 February

by ICAS Organizing Committee

Save the Date: ACDL 2025, 8th Advanced Course on Data Science & Machine Learning - From Deep Learning to Large Language Models & Multimodal Foundation Models | June 9-13 | Riva del Sole Resort & SPA - Italy -> Early Registration: by 23 February -- * Apologies for multiple copies. Please forward to anybody who might be interested, thanks * SAVE THE DATE #ACDL2025, An Interdisciplinary Course: From Deep Learning to Generative AI ACDL 2025 is a full-immersion 5-day course in … [View More]Tuscany on cutting-edge advances in AI, Deep Learning, LLMs, Data Sc. & Generative AI with lectures delivered by world-renowned experts. If you want to learn Transformers, Diffusion Models, Large language models, Vision - Large-scale vision models, Vision and language, Beyond vision and language, Multimodal Foundation Models, NLP, Generative AI and much more then take part in ACDL 2025! ;-) Riva del Sole Resort & SPA - Tuscany, Italy, June 9-13, 2025 https://acdl2025.icas.events acdl(a)icas.cc EARLY REGISTRATION: by February 23 (AoE) https://acdl2025.icas.events/registration/ Oral Presentation Submission Deadline: by February 23 (AoE) LECTURERS: TBA Each Lecturer will hold up to four lectures on one or more research topics. https://acdl2025.icas.events/lecturers/ PAST LECTURERS: https://acdl2025.icas.events/past-lecturers/ VENUE: https://acdl2025.icas.events/venue/ Riva del Sole Resort & SPA Località Riva del Sole‚ Castiglione della Pescaia (Grosseto) CAP 58043‚ Tuscany‚ Italy p: +39-0564-928111 e: booking.events(a)rivadelsole.it w: https://www.rivadelsole.it/en/ PAST EDITIONS: https://acdl2025.icas.events/past-editions/ REGISTRATION: https://acdl2025.icas.events/registration/ CERTIFICATE & 8 ECTS: The 8th Advanced Course on Data Science & Machine Learning – ACDL 2025 is a full-immersion five-day Course at the Riva del Sole Resort & SPA (Castiglione della Pescaia – Grosseto – Tuscany, Italy) on cutting-edge advances in Deep Learning, Data Science and Generative AI with lectures delivered by world-renowned experts. The Course provides a stimulating environment for PhD students, Post-Docs, junior academics (only up to assistant professors), early career researches, and industry leaders (and highly motivated, promising and brilliant Master students / BSc students). Participants will also have the chance to present their results with talks, and to interact with their colleagues, in a convivial, professional and productive environment. PhD students, PostDocs, Industry Practitioners and Junior Academics (only up to assistant professors) will be typical profiles of the ACDL attendants.The Course will involve a total of 36–40 hours of lectures, according to the academic system the final achievement will be equivalent to 8 ECTS points for the PhD Students (and some strongly motivated Master Student – BSc Student) attending the Course. Language: English. To participate in the ACDL 2025, all attendants must (1/2) register for the course (by February 23, 2025) and (2/2) book accommodation at the course venue, “Riva del Sole Resort & SPA” (by April 23, 2025); all attendants must stay at the “Riva del Sole Resort & SPA”. Booking accommodation at the Riva del Sole must be made exclusively using the accommodation form attached to the registration confirmation email. No other methods must be used (if you use other booking methods the hotel will cancel the reservation). Finally, it is not possible to extend the stay, the special accommodation rates are valid only for the period of the course, no exceptions will be made. To contact the Riva del Sole Resort & SPA (the course venue) use the following email: booking.events(a)rivadelsole.it Once accommodation has been booked at “Riva del Sole Resort & SPA“, the participant must send this information (including the Booking Number) to the ACDL organizing committee (acdl(a)icas.cc). ACDL is a residential course, so all lecturers and participants must reside in the same Hotel (Riva del Sole Resort & SPA). No exceptions are made. For privacy reasons, the Hotel can not match people. If you have someone to share the apartment with (or a double room in Hotel), please send to the Hotel ( booking.events(a)rivadelsole.it ) the name, surname and email address. Otherwise the solution is to book a hotel room in single use. Please note that only ACDL registered participants can book a room (in hotel or apartment) at the Riva del Sole Resort & SPA with the accommodation form attached in the registration email and with the ACDL Discounted Rates. The Booking Office of the Riva del Sole Resort & SPA will verify the names of the participants and the corresponding registration number to confirm the booking. Anyone interested in participating in ACDL 2025 should register as soon as possible. See you in Riva del Sole in June! ACDL 2025 Directors. ACDL 2025 Scientific & Organizing Committees. https://acdl2025.icas.events acdl(a)icas.cc Obviously this is only a Call for Participation, to have complete and updated information we recommend you access the relevant website: https://acdl2025.icas.events -- *8th Advanced Course on Data Science & Machine Learning - ACDL 2025, *9-13 June, Riva del Sole Resort & SPA, Castiglione della Pescaia (Grosseto) – Tuscany, Italy An Interdisciplinary Course: Big Data, Deep Learning & AI without Borders *Early Registration: by February 23, 2025 (AoE)* https://acdl2025.icas.events/registration/ https://acdl2025.icas.events/ acdl(a)icas.cc The Course is equivalent to 8 ECTS points for the PhD Students and the Master Students attending the Course. *10th International Conference on Learning, Optimization and Data – LOD 2024, *22–25 September Riva del Sole Resort & SPA, Castiglione della Pescaia (Grosseto) Tuscany, Italy https://lod2024.icas.events/ lod(a)icas.cc *4th Advanced Course ** and Symposium **on Artificial Intelligence and Neuroscience – ACAIN 2024,* 22–25 September Riva del Sole Resort & SPA, Castiglione della Pescaia (Grosseto) Tuscany, Italy https://acain2024.icas.events/ acain(a)icas.cc *Author Registration Deadline: June 23 * *Early Registration Deadline for the Course: June 23* The Course is equivalent to 8 ECTS points for the PhD Students and the Master Students attending the Course. *ICAS* *-* *The Interdisciplinary Centre of Advanced Studies* https://icas.cc/ [View Less]

10 months, 4 weeks

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CFP Track Accessible Devices and Technologies (ADT '25) - ACM SAC 2025 [Extended Deadline]

by Salvatore Gatto

Track on Accessible Devices and Technologies (ADT ‘25) Sicily, Italy, March 31 – April 4, 2025 Part of the 40thACM/SIGAPP Symposium on Applied Computing (SAC ‘25) https://sites.google.com/view/adt-sac-2025 <https://sites.google.com/view/adt-sac-2025> https://www.sigapp.org/sac/sac2025/ <https://www.sigapp.org/sac/sac2025/> Theme and Scope Modern devices and technologies can represent a digital barrier for users with disabilities, but they can be exploited to become … [View More]enabling tools for them. Accessibility of devices and technologies is a critical topic to allow inclusion of all users, especially due to the European laws that impose accessibility for new products and the definition of an updated version of WCAG (Web Accessibility Guidelines). This track invites scientists, engineers, and decision-makers from government, industry, and academia to present technical papers on their research and development results in areas of accessibility. This track can interest many researchers since it would give the chance to face a wide range of topics, i.e., web or mobile technologies, with different points of view, taking into account specific technological constraints and digital barriers. It is well-known that the so-called “curb cut effect” can be applied to any technological and digital context (in terms of devices, content, and services): technologies that were originally meant to benefit people with disabilities can help any other users. Moreover, the history and the evolution of several technologies have been influenced and/or motivated by the special needs of people with disabilities. We welcome submission on a wide range of topics, including but not limited to: * Accessible devices/assistive technologies: assistive technologies refer to all the assistive, adaptive, and rehabilitative devices for people with disabilities that enable users to perform tasks they were formerly unable to accomplish. On the one hand, the widespread diffusion of new devices and technologies stimulates researchers to find and apply new solutions to make them accessible to anyone. On the other hand, experiences in accessibility-related fields have been exploited and have provided benefits to users equipped with non-conventional devices when they emerged in the market. * Accessible solutions for e-learning, e-commerce, e-banking, etc: e-services and content often require specific technologies, being bounded by specific constraints when accessed by people with disabilities equipped with assistive technologies. Specific interaction modalities may affect interactive service access, while richness and quantity of content may affect the users’ ability to process information. * Accessible content: e-books, accessible TV, accessible broadcasting, etc. * Accessibility of games. * AI for Accessibility: AI can be exploited both for personalization (i.e., integrating AI-based personalization to support specific and special needs) and “enabler” (i.e., exploiting LLM to support the creation of accessible applications). Submission Guidelines We would like to invite authors to submit papers on research on the Accessibility area, with particular emphasis on assessing the current state of the art and identifying future directions. Original papers addressing any of the listed topics of interest (or related topics) will be considered. Each submitted paper will be fully refereed and undergo a double-blind review process by at least three referees. Accepted papers will be included in the ACM SAC 2025 proceedings and published in the ACM digital library, being indexed by Thomson ISI Web of Knowledge and Scopus. The track accepts full papers (max 8 pages), posters (max 2 pages), and SRC abstracts (max 2 pages). Submissions should be properly anonymized to facilitate blind reviewing. Papers that will receive high reviews (that is acceptable by reviewer standard) but will not be accepted due to space limitations can be invited for poster session. Authors of accepted papers must be prepared to sign a copyright statement and must pay the registration fee and guarantee that their paper will be presented at the conference. No-show of scheduled papers will result in excluding the papers from the ACM Digital Library. See the track website https://sites.google.com/view/adt-sac-2025 <https://sites.google.com/view/adt-sac-2025>for more details. Important Dates * October 4, 2024: Submission of regular papers and SRC research abstracts [Extended deadline!] * October 30, 2024: Notification of papers, posters, and SRC research abstracts * November 29, 2024: Camera-ready copies of accepted papers * December 6, 2024: Authors registration due Organization * Ombretta Gaggi, University of Padua * Silvia Mirri, University of Bologna * Mike Paciello, AudioEye, WebABLE * Catia Prandi, University of Bologna Submission Portal Please submit your contribution through our online submission portal available at https://www.sigapp.org/sac/sac2025/submission.php <https://www.sigapp.org/sac/sac2025/submission.php>(regular papers) and https://www.sigapp.org/sac/sac2025/submission_src.php <https://www.sigapp.org/sac/sac2025/submission_src.php>(SRC abstracts). Contact us For any inquires regarding the call for papers, please contact gaggi(a)math.unipd.it <mailto:gaggi@math.unipd.it>. We look forward to your contributions and to seeing you at the ACM SAC 2025 Conference! [View Less]

10 months, 4 weeks

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CFP Track Accessible Devices and Technologies (ADT '25) - ACM SAC 2025 [Extended Deadline]

by Salvatore Gatto

Track on Accessible Devices and Technologies (ADT ‘25) Sicily, Italy, March 31 – April 4, 2025 Part of the 40thACM/SIGAPP Symposium on Applied Computing (SAC ‘25) https://sites.google.com/view/adt-sac-2025 <https://sites.google.com/view/adt-sac-2025> https://www.sigapp.org/sac/sac2025/ <https://www.sigapp.org/sac/sac2025/> Theme and Scope Modern devices and technologies can represent a digital barrier for users with disabilities, but they can be exploited to become … [View More]enabling tools for them. Accessibility of devices and technologies is a critical topic to allow inclusion of all users, especially due to the European laws that impose accessibility for new products and the definition of an updated version of WCAG (Web Accessibility Guidelines). This track invites scientists, engineers, and decision-makers from government, industry, and academia to present technical papers on their research and development results in areas of accessibility. This track can interest many researchers since it would give the chance to face a wide range of topics, i.e., web or mobile technologies, with different points of view, taking into account specific technological constraints and digital barriers. It is well-known that the so-called “curb cut effect” can be applied to any technological and digital context (in terms of devices, content, and services): technologies that were originally meant to benefit people with disabilities can help any other users. Moreover, the history and the evolution of several technologies have been influenced and/or motivated by the special needs of people with disabilities. We welcome submission on a wide range of topics, including but not limited to: * Accessible devices/assistive technologies: assistive technologies refer to all the assistive, adaptive, and rehabilitative devices for people with disabilities that enable users to perform tasks they were formerly unable to accomplish. On the one hand, the widespread diffusion of new devices and technologies stimulates researchers to find and apply new solutions to make them accessible to anyone. On the other hand, experiences in accessibility-related fields have been exploited and have provided benefits to users equipped with non-conventional devices when they emerged in the market. * Accessible solutions for e-learning, e-commerce, e-banking, etc: e-services and content often require specific technologies, being bounded by specific constraints when accessed by people with disabilities equipped with assistive technologies. Specific interaction modalities may affect interactive service access, while richness and quantity of content may affect the users’ ability to process information. * Accessible content: e-books, accessible TV, accessible broadcasting, etc. * Accessibility of games. * AI for Accessibility: AI can be exploited both for personalization (i.e., integrating AI-based personalization to support specific and special needs) and “enabler” (i.e., exploiting LLM to support the creation of accessible applications). Submission Guidelines We would like to invite authors to submit papers on research on the Accessibility area, with particular emphasis on assessing the current state of the art and identifying future directions. Original papers addressing any of the listed topics of interest (or related topics) will be considered. Each submitted paper will be fully refereed and undergo a double-blind review process by at least three referees. Accepted papers will be included in the ACM SAC 2025 proceedings and published in the ACM digital library, being indexed by Thomson ISI Web of Knowledge and Scopus. The track accepts full papers (max 8 pages), posters (max 2 pages), and SRC abstracts (max 2 pages). Submissions should be properly anonymized to facilitate blind reviewing. Papers that will receive high reviews (that is acceptable by reviewer standard) but will not be accepted due to space limitations can be invited for poster session. Authors of accepted papers must be prepared to sign a copyright statement and must pay the registration fee and guarantee that their paper will be presented at the conference. No-show of scheduled papers will result in excluding the papers from the ACM Digital Library. See the track website https://sites.google.com/view/adt-sac-2025 <https://sites.google.com/view/adt-sac-2025>for more details. Important Dates * October 4, 2024: Submission of regular papers and SRC research abstracts [Extended deadline!] * October 30, 2024: Notification of papers, posters, and SRC research abstracts * November 29, 2024: Camera-ready copies of accepted papers * December 6, 2024: Authors registration due Organization * Ombretta Gaggi, University of Padua * Silvia Mirri, University of Bologna * Mike Paciello, AudioEye, WebABLE * Catia Prandi, University of Bologna Submission Portal Please submit your contribution through our online submission portal available at https://www.sigapp.org/sac/sac2025/submission.php <https://www.sigapp.org/sac/sac2025/submission.php>(regular papers) and https://www.sigapp.org/sac/sac2025/submission_src.php <https://www.sigapp.org/sac/sac2025/submission_src.php>(SRC abstracts). Contact us For any inquires regarding the call for papers, please contact gaggi(a)math.unipd.it <mailto:gaggi@math.unipd.it>. We look forward to your contributions and to seeing you at the ACM SAC 2025 Conference! [View Less]

10 months, 4 weeks

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Reminder: Upcoming Deadlines for ACM IUI 2025 Workshops and Full Papers

by Eleonora Zedda

Reminder: Upcoming Deadlines for ACM IUI 2025 Workshops and Full Papers We would like to remind you of the upcoming submission deadlines for the *ACM Conference on Intelligent User Interfaces (ACM IUI) 2025*, the 30th annual event where researchers and practitioners from around the world come together to discuss the latest advances at the intersection of *Artificial Intelligence (AI)*and *Human-Computer Interaction (HCI)*. The conference will take place in *Cagliari, Italy*, from *March … [View More]

11 months

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Happening now: seminar by Prof. Jonathan Lazar on "Born-Accessible Design: Methods, Tools, and Policies

by Dragan Ahmetovic

Dear All, A kind reminder that the seminar by Prof. Jonathan Lazar on "Born-Accessible Design: Methods, Tools, and Policies" is starting now at the Dept. of Computer Science of the University of Milan in via Celoria 18, Milano (Council Room, 8th floor). It is also streamed on Zoom (https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81149147782?pwd=5BfqSTzTWxDDujCiVij2u6RoeeXW1D.1). Link of the event: https://di.unimi.it/it/seminario-born-accessible-design-methods-tools-and-p… Title: Born-Accessible Design: … [View More]Methods, Tools, and Policies Abstract: Digital technologies, applications, websites, and documents are often created without considering accessibility for people with disabilities. Often, a technology is built inaccessibly, and then either remediated for accessibility, remediated for accessibility only when there is a complaint from a person with a disability, or is never remediated for accessibility. Building inaccessible technologies or content and then remediating them for accessibility after-the-fact is not an effective approach. The time delay between when digital technologies and content are built and released and when they are made accessible can itself be a form of societal discrimination, as some people have access to the technologies and content while others do not until a later date. Furthermore, remediating a technology after-the-fact tends to cost more than accessibility built-in from the start, which unfortunately leads to the misperception that accessibility is expensive. While disability rights advocates often call for digital technologies and content to be built using a born-accessible approach, the research literature in HCI and UX does not define the details for a born-accessible model. This presentation will report on work being done by the Maryland Initiative for Digital Accessibility (MIDA) at the University of Maryland, in collaboration with partners Adobe and the U.S. Access Board, to help define methods, tools, and policies for the born-accessible design approach. The presentation will include information on methods for involving disability rights groups into the born-accessible design process, the shifting power dynamics that occur in born-accessible design, mockups of interface features that support born-accessible design, and three examples where born-accessible concepts have been incorporated into U.S. State and Federal policies. Bio: Jonathan Lazar, PhD, LLM is a professor in the College of Information at the University of Maryland, where he is the executive director of the Maryland Initiative for Digital Accessibility (MIDA), and is a faculty member in the Human- Computer Interaction Lab (HCIL). Dr. Lazar has over 25 years of experience in research and teaching in human-computer interaction, with a focus on technology accessibility for people with disabilities, user-centered design methods, assistive technologies, and law and public policy related to HCI. Dr. Lazar has authored or edited 17 books, including Research Methods in Human-Computer Interaction (2nd edition, co- authored with Feng and Hochheiser), Ensuring Digital Accessibility Through Process and Policy (co-authored with Goldstein and Taylor), Foundations of Information Law (co-authored with Jaeger, Gorham, and Greene-Taylor), and Accessible Technology and the Developing World (co-edited with Stein). Dr. Lazar has published over 200 refereed articles in journals, conference proceedings, edited books, and magazines, and has received research funding from the U.S. National Science Foundation, the U.S. National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR), Google, and Adobe. At the University of Maryland, he frequently teaches courses on Human-Computer Interaction, Accessibility, User-Centered Design, and Legal Research Methods. He is the recipient of the 2020 ACM SIGACCESS Award for Outstanding Contributions to Computing and Accessibility and the 2016 ACM SIGCHI Social Impact Award, is a member of the ACM SIGCHI Academy, and has served as the general chair of the 2021 ACM ASSETS conference. Best, Dragan Ahmetovic<http://dragan.ahmetovic.it/> Associate Professor EveryWare Lab.<http://everywarelab.di.unimi.it/> Dept. of Computer Science<http://www.di.unimi.it/> Università degli Studi di Milano<https://www.unimi.it/> [View Less]

11 months

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Call for Papers: IJHCS Special Issue on User Perspectives in Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence

by Erasmo Purificato

Apologies for crossposting. ======================================== CFP Special Issue * User Perspectives in Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence * International Journal of Human-Computer Studies (IJHCS) - Elsevier Journal (IF 5.4 @ 2023) Springer journal website: https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/international-journal-of-human-comput… ======================================== Call for Papers We are excited to invite submissions for the Special Issue of the International … [View More]Journal of Human-Computer Studies (IJHCS) entitled “User Perspectives in Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence“ (VSI:HCAI). Guest Editors: - Ludovico Boratto University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy ludovico.boratto(a)acm.org - Erasmo Purificato Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg, Magdeburg, Germany erasmo.purificato(a)acm.org - Ernesto William De Luca Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg, Magdeburg, Germany Leibniz Institute for Educational Media | Georg Eckert Institute, Brunswick, Braunschweig, Germany ernesto.deluca(a)ovgu.de - Stefano Marrone University of Naples Federico II, Napoli, Italy stefano.marrone(a)unina.it - Carlo Sansone University of Naples Federico II, Napoli, Italy carlo.sansone(a)unina.it ** Special Issue Focus ** This special issue focuses on the rapidly evolving field of Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence (HCAI), which aims to shift the development and application of AI technologies towards enhancing human capabilities while ensuring systems are transparent, equitable, privacy-conscious, and under human control. It seeks to unite a wide range of stakeholders, including researchers, developers, business leaders, policymakers, and end-users, to examine AI's multifaceted impacts from a user-centric viewpoint. The issue will delve into the benefits and challenges of automated decision-making systems, with a particular emphasis on reliability, safety, and trustworthiness, and how these factors influence user interactions and experiences with AI. The goal is to foster a comprehensive discourse on creating AI systems that are not only technologically advanced but also ethically and socially attuned to user needs, encouraging submissions that assess user perception in real-world scenarios beyond algorithmic and model-centric evaluations. Topics of interest include system design and user interaction, ethical and societal considerations, and technological advancements aimed at improving user experience. This includes the design and evaluation of reliable and safe AI systems, empirical studies on HCAI's real-world impact, human-in-the-loop methodologies, innovative design and assessment methods, adaptive user interfaces, approaches to mitigate bias, privacy preservation, the impact of regulations, and the development of user-adaptive and explainable AI systems across various sectors. The issue invites original research, case studies, and review articles to promote cross-disciplinary dialogue and address the complex challenges and opportunities in HCAI. We invite submissions on a range of topics: - System Design and User Interaction - Design and evaluation of reliable, safe, and trustworthy AI systems. - Empirical studies on the real-world impact of HCAI systems. - Human-in-the-loop approaches and methodologies in HCAI. - Innovative methods and metrics for designing and assessing HCAI systems. - Adaptive and personalized user interfaces in HCAI. - Novel approaches to Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) in HCAI contexts. - Ethical and Societal Considerations - Potential risks and threats for users in HCAI systems. - Strategies for detecting and mitigating bias in real-world applications. - Privacy-preserving methodologies in AI systems. - Impact of regulations and policies on the development and use of HCAI systems. - Transparent user profiling methods and their implications. - Technological Advancements and User Experience - User-adaptive and explainable AI systems. - Development of explainable user interfaces. - Case studies and user-centric evaluations of HCAI systems in various sectors (e.g., healthcare, education, finance). We welcome original research papers, case studies, and review articles contributing to the knowledge in these areas. ** Submission Guidelines ** Authors are invited to submit original and unpublished papers. All submissions will be peer-reviewed and judged on originality, significance, quality, and relevance to the special issue topics of interest. Submitted papers should not have appeared in or be under consideration for another journal. More info here: https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/international-journal-of-human-comput… Instructions for authors: https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/international-journal-of-human-comput… ** Important Dates ** - Submission Open Date: September 16th, 2024 - Final Manuscript Submission Deadline: November 18th, 2024 - Editorial Acceptance Deadline: February 20th, 2025 [View Less]

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[cfp] edu4AI - Dissemination Track

by Elisa Marengo

*** Apologies for multiple copies *** The 1st Workshop on Education for Artificial Intelligence (edu4AI) will host a Dissemination Track to encourage the submission of papers already published over the last three years or papers submitted but not yet accepted, and whose authors desire to share them with the workshop attendees. Papers accepted to the Dissemination Track will be granted a slot for oral presentation, but will not be included in the edu4AI CEUR proceedings. The workshop is … [View More]co-located with the 23rd International Conference of the Italian Association for Artificial Intelligence (AIxIA 2024) November 25 – November 28, 2024, Bolzano (Italy) https://aixia2024.events.unibz.it/ Workshop website:https://edu4ai.di.unito.it/ Dissemination track: https://edu4ai.di.unito.it/dissemination-track/ *********************** Topics of interest *********************** Topic of interest for the Dissemination Track are the same of the edu4AI main track, thus including (but not limited to) Challenges and Opportunities in Education for AI Leveraging online platforms for widespread AI Education Innovative Education Techniques and methodologies to support AI Education Hands-on research initiatives to support AI awareness and comprehension Program development for Educators Resources and techniques to explain AI in simple terms AI Literacy kits and educational games Educational tools and resources for correcting AI misconceptions Case studies on AI Literacy courses for elderly people Domain-specific threats due to AI biases and educational solutions to overcome them Education on AI-Ethical aspects Training programs to convey AI awareness Teaching Methodologies Experimentation and reports on the practical applications of the above topics in domain-specific contexts are welcomed (such as in healthcare, K-12 and higher education systems, finance, Lifelong Learning, Adult Education, and such like). The edu4AI workshop focuses on “Education on AI to promote AI awareness and AI literacy”. All papers on Artificial Intelligence models for enhancing learning experience and supporting teachers in their roles are invited to visit the website of the complementary workshop AIxEDU <https://aixedu.pa.itd.cnr.it/home>. *********************** Submissions *********************** A dissemination paper can be submitted in its original format (preprint or editorial version). Additionally, it must include a cover page containing the Title, the authors, the abstract, the complete reference of the publication (i.e., venue and date), and an explicit statement of the paper’s status (e.g., published, accepted, or submitted). Papers can be submitted in PDF format via the online submission system CMT <https://cmt3.research.microsoft.com/EDU4AI2024> by selecting the dissemination track: Papers will be selected based on the relevance to the topics of the workshop *********************** Important Dates *********************** Paper submission deadline: September 28, 2024 Notifications of paper acceptance: October 6, 2024 *********************** Organization Chairs *********************** - Elisa Marengo - University of Torino, Italy email: elisa.marengo(a)unito.it - Michela Ponticorvo - University “Federico II” of Napoli, Italy email: michela.ponticorvo(a)unina.it - Manuel Striani - University of Piemonte Orientale, Italy email: manuel.striani(a)uniupo.it [View Less]

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