On Wednesday, January 22, 2025, the first inaugural lecture took place at the IT:U Interdisciplinary Transformation University Austria. Professors Christopher Frauenberger and Philipp Wintersberger, who were appointed in autumn 2024, gave insights into their research areas “Human-Computer Interaction and Intelligent User Interfaces”. With this series of inaugural lectures, IT:U presents its research priorities at the new technical university.
The first inaugural lecture at IT:U in Linz, held by two of the eleven founding professors who have been working at the Technical University since October 2024, attracted almost 130 listeners (including around 70 in attendance). represented another milestone in the development of the university.
“IT:U is proud of the professional expertise and international networking of its founding professors. ‘Human Factors’ – i.e. researching the factors of human behavior – is one of our main research areas at IT:U. Because human factors are crucial for the acceptance of digital technologies. This is exactly what it’s all about today: shaping the relationship between humans and machines in the best possible way in order to use their advantages for society. With the first inaugural lecture we set an impulse in exactly this direction,”
said IT:U founding president Stefanie Lindstaedt.
Numerous scientists from universities at home and abroad took part in the inaugural lecture, as did representatives from local business and industry. After the ceremonial opening by founding president Stefanie Lindstaedt, they all followed the remarks of the two professors before the evening ended in a lively panel discussion.
We need to rethink our relationship with technology.
The topic of the first evening: Humans and their computers, a non-trivial problem. Technological progress has had a profound impact on humanity throughout history. In the current phase of digital transformation, this means: artificial intelligence (AI) that can speak, create creative works such as poems or diagnose cancer. We work with AI and robots in teams and algorithms control our cars. These advances challenge fundamental human concepts and abilities such as creativity, agency, responsibility and consciousness and force us to reshape our relationship with technology.
Directing human attention, supported by AI.
On the one hand, today’s fast-paced world requires us to be able to multitask, but on the other hand, modern technology often tries to distract us. The resulting frequent switching between activities reduces productivity, creates stress, and can be highly dangerous in some situations – such as in traffic. “In our research, we are trying to solve this problem with AI systems that learn to direct our attention in the right direction. For example, by not sending notifications immediately, but at a suitable and less disruptive time. Another possible use is to support users in collaborating with automated systems such as autonomous vehicles or industrial robots. “Attention management systems” will become increasingly important in the future because, in contrast to the constantly increasing computing power of machines, human capacity is limited,”
emphasizes Philipp Wintersberger, founding professor of Intelligent User Interfaces.
Pioneering research on the role of robots in geriatric care.
The social structure is changing, we live longer and in different constellations and therefore we need new approaches to care. This is not about replacing nursing professionals with technology, but rather supporting and relieving them where possible. A large number of people requiring inpatient care are affected by dementia. In order to preserve their quality of life and autonomy for as long as possible, robots could play an important role in the future. To this end, Christopher Frauenberger and his team are conducting comprehensive studies in nursing homes to understand what constitutes good, person-centered care and how technological solutions can contribute to this. A possible scenario: A woman with dementia is sitting in the common room. An autonomous robot approaches them and they walk through the hallway together. He involves her in an interaction that builds on the woman’s biographical content and addresses memories. The robot takes data e.g. B. on language and gait, which are incorporated into the documentation and provide information about the health status. The robot does not pretend to offer emotional care; if it detects that the woman needs attention or help, it will hand over to a caregiver.
Interdisciplinary research at IT:U
“Tasks involving people and their computers cannot be addressed from a single discipline. This also applies to the question of the development of robotics in care. A discipline is like a flashlight that illuminates a specific part of the world. But in such contexts, more is needed. In order to understand what role technology can and should have, knowledge from nursing and social sciences as well as ethics is needed. The great challenge of interdisciplinary research is not only to sharpen individual, professional perspectives, but also to connect them together to create a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts. We need lots of flashlights that illuminate the world from different perspectives – and that’s exactly what IT:U is all about,”
explains Christopher Frauenberger, founding professor of human-computer interaction.
The professors:
Die „First Lectures“:
A new format – innovative, interdisciplinary and interactive, with exciting insights into the eleven research groups at IT:U, Austria’s youngest technical university, which – based on interdisciplinary research and project-based, personalized learning – is dedicated to digital transformation, proactively designing it and solution-oriented advances. All appointments will be over www.it-u.at as well as announced in advance on social media and invite you to participate by registering in advance.
AI-Powered Science: Transforming Knowledge and Innovation Across Disciplines
Daniel Klotz (Assistant Professor of Machine Learning in Earth Science) und Yufang Hou (Professor of Natural Language Processing)
Datum: February 4, 2025, 5:00 p.m
Art: Lectures and discussions
Ort: IT:U Interdisciplinary Transformation University Austria
Altenberger Straße 66c
4040 Linz
Austria
Understanding Systems and Societies through Interdisciplinarity
Tiago de Paula Peixoto (Professor of Complex Systems and Network Science) und Bernd Resch (Professor of Geosocial Artificial Intelligence)
Datum: March 4, 2025, 5:00 p.m
Art: Lectures and discussions
Ort: IT:U Interdisciplinary Transformation University Austria
Altenberger Straße 66c
4040 Linz
Austria
Neuro-(X)AI: Illuminating the Black Box of Minds and Machines
Jie Mei (Assistant Professor of Computational Neuroscience) und Nina Hubig (Assistant Professor of Explainable Artificial Intelligence)
Datum: March 18, 2025, 5:00 p.m
Art: Lectures and discussions
Ort: IT:U Interdisciplinary Transformation University Austria
Altenberger Straße 66c
4040 Linz
Austria
An interdisciplinary approach to social norms and practices: Theory, Work and Rules
Sebastian Dennerlein (Assistant Professor of Digital Transformation in Learning), Christian Hilbe (Professor of Game Theory and Evolutionary Dynamics) und Ben Wagner (Professor of Human Rights and Technology)
Datum: April 2, 2025, 5:00 p.m
Art: Lectures and discussions
Ort: IT:U Interdisciplinary Transformation University Austria
Altenberger Straße 66c
4040 Linz