On Tuesday, March 4, 2025, IT: U Founding Professors Tiago P. Peixoto, Professor of Complex Systems and Network Science, and Bernd Resch, Professor of Geosocial Artificial Intelligence, held their input lectures. They devoted the evening to the understanding of systems and society to find hidden patterns with the help of interdisciplinary approaches and artificial intelligence (AI). These findings can not only contribute to a better understanding of behaviors, but also serve as the basis for well -founded decisions.
The third inaugural lecture took a look at two exciting, future -oriented research approaches. On the one hand, it was about network science and mathematical modeling to recognize “patterns of order” in social, biological and technical systems. Among other things, these findings can contribute to the faster development of medication. The analysis of spatial geographical and social data, on the other hand, is used in disaster management, epidemiology or urban research.
“Interdisciplinarity is already in our name – Tiago Peixoto and Bernd Resch have impressively demonstrated the potential of interdisciplinary research in their first lectures. We live in a age of data and networks – it is crucial to understand them. In the combination of various data quantities and analysis approaches, new, valuable findings open up”
sums up IT: U founding President Stefanie Lindstaedt.
The hidden simplicity of complex systems
IT: U Founding Professor Tiago P. Peixoto examines the rules of complex systems. These hidden “patterns of order” can be responsible for certain behaviors. In order to be able to determine such structures in complex social, biological or technical systems, it uses network science and mathematical modeling. This benefits, for example, the development of medication: the targeted prediction of interactions between already known drugs based on your known effects can open up new treatment options. This reduces the effort for expensive and lengthy research, since potentially promising combinations of drugs can be identified faster.
“The behavior of mold, fluctuations in stock markets, political polarization or the dynamics of global pandemic – each of these systems shows complex behavior that can be seen from a network of relatively simple interactions between many individual components. In order to understand and influence such systems, we need theories and methods that go beyond the conventional disciplinary borders”
Professor Tiago P. Peixoto is convinced.
With geosocial AI on more efficient decisions in crisis situations
In the research area of IT: U Founding Professor Bernd Resch meet geography and artificial intelligence (KI/AI) to analyze spatial and social patterns. The combination of machine learning, geographical analyzes, location-based data and social science methods already provides real-time insights for smart decision-making in many areas. For example, in the area of disaster management to track natural disasters in real time and help emergency services to assess affected areas, assign resources efficiently and to improve crisis planning.
“The growing influence of digital data and tools as well as the progress of artificial intelligence change both research and our everyday life.
, describes Professor Bernd Resch.
The professors
Die „First Lectures“
The format of the “First Lecture” offers exciting insights into the eleven research groups of IT: U, Austria’s most recent technical university, which – based on interdisciplinary research and project -based, personalized learning – is dedicated to digital transformation, processes them proactively and in a solution -oriented manner. All dates are over www.it-u.at as well as announced in advance on social media and invite you to participate on site and online.
Neuro-(X)AI: Illuminating the Black Box of Minds and Machines
Lecture of Jie Mei (Assistant Professor of Computational Neuroscience) and Nina Hubig (Assistant Professor of Explainable Artificial Intelligence)
Datum: 03/18/2025, 5:00 p.m.
Art: Lectures and discussions
Ort: Online / IT:U
Altenberger Straße 66c
4040 Linz
Austria
An interdisciplinary approach to social norms and practices: Theory, Work and Rules
Lecture of Sebastian Dennerlein (Assistant Professor of Digital Transformation in Learning), Christian Hilbe (Professor of Game Theory and Evolutionary Dynamics) and Ben Wagner (Professor of Human Rights and Technology)
Datum: 02.04.2025, 5:00 p.m.
Art: Lectures and discussions
Ort: Online / IT:U
Altenberger Straße 66c
4040 Linz
Austria