A palestra intitulada “Safe Evolution of Smart Contracts Supported by LLMs and SMT Solvers” será apresentada dia 24 de abril, às 14:00, na sala B006, com a moderação de Nuno Macedo (DEI).

Resumo:

“The focus of this talk is a framework that supports the safe deployment and upgrade of smart contracts based on the design-by-contract (dbc) paradigm. The input is (i) an interface specification with invariants and pre- and postconditions for each function, and (ii) an implementation to be verified. The deployed version of a smart contract must conform to this specification. Specification evolution might involve both changing the data representation as well as extending the interface with new functions, provided the evolved specification is a refinement of the original one. A distinguishing feature of the overall approach is the automation of the verification process in a hidden formal methods style. Since developers tend to be reluctant to provide formal specifications for software components, we are investigating state-of-the-art NL processing technologies, using Large Language Models (LLMs), particularly, ChatGPT, to automatically infer formal (dbc) interface specifications from textual requirements. Also, when an upgrade involves change of data representation, we use the Alloy Analyser to automatically infer the relation between the two data representations. The applicability of the framework is evaluated in the context of Solidity smart contracts that implement some Ethereum standards. This project is a collaboration between Universidade Federal de Pernambuco (Brazil), The University College Oxford Blockchain Research Centre (UK), and The Blockhouse Technology Limited (UK).”

Sobre o Palestrante:

Augusto Sampaio is a DPhil from Oxford University, Doctor Honoris Causa from the University of York, Commander of the Brazilian Order of Scientific Merit, a member of the Brazilian Academy of Science, and a Professor at Universidade Federal de Pernambuco. His main research interests are software engineering formal methods; formal approaches to testing; design, simulation and verification of robotic systems; and safe evolution of smart contracts. He is an Editorial Board member of Formal Aspects of Computing (ACM) and Science of Computer Programming (Elsevier), and has been a PC member of leading conferences in the field (FM, ETAPS, SEFM, ICFEM, ICTAC …). He published more than 150 papers and supervised 60 PhD and master’s students.

A palestra intitulada “Cyber Security Threat Landscape in the Context of Industry 4.0” será apresentada dia 14 de abril, às 14:30 (1h), na sala I-105, com a moderação de Pedro Diniz (DEI).

Resumo:

Industry 4.0 is revolutionizing the ways in which industries function. Big data, industrial control systems, supervisory control, and data acquisition systems, smart machines, robotics, internet of things (IoT) etc., all fall under the umbrella of Industry 4.0. With the fourth industrial revolution comes new operational risks for smart manufacturers, connected devices, and digital supply networks. With increasing digital transformation and interconnected nature of industry 4.0, cyberattacks can have significantly greater effects than ever before while the manufacturers may not be prepared for the potential risks. Without the strong cybersecurity practices in place, industries can be subject to industrial property theft, production sabotage, industrial espionage etc. To address the cyber risks adequately in the era of industry 4.0, it is crucial to make the cyber security strategies secure and resilient and integrate them fully in the organizational strategies from the beginning. This talk will discuss different types of attacks smart industries can be targeted for. The talk will also recommend some techniques and cyber security practices that the manufacturing industries must adopt to protect themselves against such attacks.

Sobre o Palestrante:

Haider Abbas is the head of the R&D Department at the College of Signals, NUST, and founder of the National Cyber Security Auditing and Evaluation Lab (NCSAEL). He is a Cyber Security expert with advanced training from MIT, Stockholm University, IBM, and EC-Council, and holds a PhD in Information Security. Dr. Abbas is an editor for several renowned journals and has chaired numerous international conferences. He has authored over 130 research papers and has received multiple prestigious awards, including the NUST Best Researcher Award. He is a Fellow of the IET, BCS, and IST, and a Senior Member of IEEE. Additionally, he serves on the Board of Governors for Pakistan’s National Information Technology Board (NITB).

A palestra intitulada “Towards AI-Assisted Synthesis of Verified Dafny Methods”, será apresentada no dia 24 de março, às 11:00, na sala I-105, moderada por Rui Maranhão (DEI).

Resumo:

“LLMs show “great promise” in code synthesis. Can they keep the promise and ensure that the synthesized code is provably correct?
In this talk I will present our work on synthesizing formally verified Dafny methods. LLMs don’t know much about Dafny, but they learn fast with proper RAG-CoT prompts. We spent 6 weeks hand-coding 50 verified algorithms in Dafny, and then GPT4 was able to generate 103 new ones with the right postconditions and the necessary verification hints.
Md Rakib Hossain (Misu) co-led the work, with assistance from Iris Ma. Joint work with James Noble.”

Sobre a Palestrante:

Cristina (Crista) Lopes is a Professor in the School of Information and Computer Sciences at University of California, Irvine, with research interests in Programming Languages, Software Engineering, and Distributed Virtual Environments. She is an IEEE Fellow and an ACM Distinguished Scientist. She is the recipient of the 2016 Pizzigati Prize for Software in the Public Interest for her work in the OpenSimulator virtual world platform. Her book “Exercises in Programming Style” has gained rave reviews, including being chosen as “Notable Book” by the ACM Best of Computing reviews.

A palestra intitulada “Neuronflow: an event-driven processor architecture for low power AI at the edge” será apresentada no dia 6 de março, pelas 11:30, na sala I-105, com a moderação de Pedro Diniz (DEI).

Resumo:

“This presentation provides an in-depth overview of the GrAIcore Neural Processing Unit (NPU) architecture developed by Snap Inc. for Augmented Reality applications, emphasizing the role of sparsity in achieving significant power and performance improvements compared with traditional architectures. The discussion will focus on the necessity of redesigning traditional computer architectures to adopt an event-driven execution model, which is critical for harnessing the benefits of sparsity. Additionally, the talk will explore advanced training optimization techniques that enhance network activation sparsity, enabling the full potential of the event-driven multicore architecture to be realized. This holistic approach to architectural and algorithmic design is essential for leveraging the unique advantages of the GrAIcore NPU in real-world applications.”

Sobre o Palestrante:

Orlando Moreira is Chief Computer Architect and Senior Manager at Snap Inc. in Eindhoven, Netherlands. His expertise encompasses computer architecture, edge AI, embedded systems, real-time systems, and data flow methodologies. Before his tenure at Snap Inc., Moreira held the position of Chief Architect at GrAI Matter Labs, where he was responsible for the compute architecture and software development kit (SDK) roadmaps.
Before, he worked for Philips Research, ST-Ericsson, Ericsson, and Intel (where he was group leader for programming and core tools – compiler, simulator, debugger and hw generation).
Throughout his career, Moreira has contributed peer-reviewed to the field of computer architecture, particularly in the areas of embedded and cyber-physical systems, as well as the field of real-time design, modeling, and analysis.
He holds a PhD in Electrical Engineering from the University of Eindhoven.

A palestra intitulada “AI and the Worlds of Work“ será apresentada no dia 25 de fevereiro, pelas 11:00, na sala I-105, com a moderação de António Coelho (DEI).

Resumo:

“The effects of AI on work is a central point of discussion and negotiation in many fields. Machines and mechanical tools have replaced some but not all physical manual labour. The assumption is that AI will bring similar changes, eradicating some jobs, transforming many and having little impact on others. At the moment we know very little about which jobs AI will replace, transform, increase or have little real impact on, but we know that the scope of work and jobs is wide, and that changes do not occur automatically, they are usually negotiated, and negotiations have already begun to take place in a number of sectors. While industrial machines largely replaced low-skill, low-paid physically demanding manual work, the assumption is that AI will increasingly have an impact on high-skill, high-qualification, and high-consequence cognitive and even “creative” work. As AI poses challenges to workers of higher standing and better organized, the deployment and use of AI is subject to negotiation and contestation, both at workplaces and in central negotiations between employers and employee representatives. Worlds of work differ from technical and social perspectives, and as we already see, AI is confronted differently dependent upon what types of employees are being impacted and in which jurisdiction. This lecture examines the various reactions to the “threats” and “possibilities” of AI among different types of workers from telecoms to entertainment in Europe and North America, arguing that institutional factors play a significant role in these negotiations and subsequent use and deployment of AI.”

Sobre o Palestrante:

Chris Mathieu is Reader in the Sociology of Work and Organisations at the Department of Sociology, Lund University, and previously (2002-2014) Associate Professor at the Department of Organisation, Copenhagen Business School. From 2015-2018 he was coordinator of the Horizon 2020 project QuInnE (quinne.eu) – Quality of Jobs and Innovation Generated Employment Outcomes. His primary research areas include film production as well as medical education and practice. Book publications include: Careers in Creative Industries (Routledge, 2012); Accomplishing Cultural Policy in Europe (Routledge 2022); and The Oxford Handbook of Job Quality (OUP, 2022). A recent article on AI as a focus area of labour negotiations is: Ilsøe, A., Larsen, T. P., Mathieu, C., & Rolandsson, B. (2024). Negotiating about Algorithms: Social Partner Responses to AI in Denmark and Sweden. ILR Review, 77(5), 856-868. https://doi.org/10.1177/00197939241278956f

A palestra intitulada “Towards Industry and Operator 5.0: Challenges and Opportunities“ será apresentada no dia 24 de janeiro, pelas 15:00, na sala B011, com a moderação de Gil Gonçalves (DEI).

 Resumo:

“Built on the pillars of human-centricity and resilience, Industry 5.0 is focused on fostering the industry towards a new paradigm that not only remains within economic boundaries but also actively contributes to well-being and sustainability. The adoption of Industry 5.0 principles is just at the beginning phase in Europe, where the paradigm is transitioning from awareness and methods development to implementation including the Operator 5.0. In this conference, the industrial human needs, human factors and potential future applications are analysed, exploring the links with cyber-physical human systems and enabling technologies. The initiative of Community of Practice of Industry 5.0 (CoP Industry 5.0, European Commission) is also presented. Transitioning from Operator 4.0 to Operator 5.0 involves advancing beyond the integration of digital technologies into fostering a more human-centric, intelligent, and resilient workforce in smart manufacturing environments. Key related issues with Operator 5.0 will be also discussed.”

Sobre o Palestrante:

Rodolfo Haber received the Ph.D. degree in Industrial Engineering from the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Spain, in 1999. Researcher of the Spanish Council for Scientific Research (CSIC) since 2006. From 2020-24, he has been Director of the Center for Automation and Robotics of the Spanish Council for Scientific Research (CSIC) and Polytechnic University of Madrid (UPM). He has authored 3 books, 14 patents, 1 trade secret, 21 book chapters, and dozen of articles in indexed journals and conference papers (h-index:42). He has been co-founder of the starts-up Kinequo S.L. (2015), Xymbot Digital Solutions S.L. (2020) and Invofox SL (2022). Since 2002, he has belonged to the IFAC’s TC3.1/5.1 Computers for Control/Manufacturing Plant Control of IFAC, ASME TC Model Identification and Intelligent Systems and IEEE IES TC on Industrial Cyber-Physical Systems. He is member of the Editorial Board of several journals, editing nowadays a Collection Topic “Smart manufacturing systems and industry 4.0

Technologies” (Scientific Reports, Nature Portfolio). He represents CSIC in “Data, AI and Robotics (DAIRO)” EU Association and he is member of Industry 5.0 Community of Practice Initiative (European Commission). His main research activities are focused on cyber-physical systems, Internet-of-Everything, intelligent systems, modelling, control and supervisory systems, artificial cognitive systems and Industry 5.0.

LinkedIn: https://es.linkedin.com/in/rodolfo-haber-43b82b14

ResearchGate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Rodolfo-Elias-Haber-Guerra

GoogleScholar: https://scholar.google.es/citations?user=07IZQjQAAAAJ&hl=es

A palestra intitulada “Key Challenges in Cyber Security and Cyber Resilience” será apresentada dia 27 de novembro, às 14:00, no anfiteatro B021, e será moderada pelo Prof. António Pimenta Monteiro.

Resumo:

“Cybersecurity and cyber resilience must be viewed holistically under an active doctrine covering five dimensions: A) Governance, B) Prevention, C) Protection, D) Early Detection and Fast Counterresponse, and, finally, F) Quick Recovery. Prevention and Protection are designed as “inhibitor” dimensions to minimize the probability of a cyber-attack materializing and succeeding.

In this talk, we will discuss this active cyber governance doctrine and identify key, challenging, new research areas.”

Sobre o Palestrante:

“José Alegria (PhD) RedShift Board Advisor and CIIWA Ambassador and Strategy Advisor. Both focused on cybersecurity.

Former Chief Security Officer and CISO at Altice Portugal. Former Worldwide Coordinator of the CyberWatch Program at the Altice Group. Former Member of European Cybercrime Center (EC3) Advisory Group on Communication Providers at EUROPOL.

Previously, CTO at ONI Telecom, CEO of BanifServ, General Manager of IT Services at Banking Groups BBI/BFE and BFB/BPI, member of the Executive Board at IBM Portugal, and head of Data General’s European EuroACE competence center.

Senior Lecturer at New University of Lisbon, Computer Science Department. Fulbright-Hays and Gulbenkian Scholar at The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA.

Over 25 years of experience in applying advanced software technology to cybersecurity (complex event processing, event correlation, new languages, multi-paradigm frameworks, actor systems, data science, and machine learning applied to cybersecurity).

Co-advised over 66 MSc Thesis in Cybersecurity-related fields.”

A palestra intitulada “Evaluating Diversification in Group Recommendation of Points of Interest” será apresentada dia 21 de novembro, às 15:00, na sala I-105, moderada pelo Prof. Rosaldo Rossetti (DEI).

Resumo:

“With the massive availability and use of the Internet, the search for Points of Interest (POI) is becoming an arduous task. POI Recommendation Systems have, therefore, emerged to help users search for and discover relevant POIs based on their preferences and behaviors. These systems combine different information sources and present numerous research challenges and questions. POI recommender systems traditionally focused on providing recommendations to individual users based on their preferences and behaviors. However, there is an increasing need to recommend POIs to groups of users rather than just individuals. People often visit POIs together in groups rather than alone. Thus, some studies indicate that the further users travel, the less relevant the POIs are to them. In addition, the recommendations belong to the same category, without diversity. This work proposes a POI Recommendation System for a group using a diversity algorithm based on members’ preferences and their locations. The evaluation of the proposal involved both online and offline experiments. Accuracy metrics were used in the evaluation, and it was observed that the level at which the results were analyzed was relevant. For the top 3, recommendations without diversity performed better, but diversification positively impacted the results at the top 5 and 10 levels.”

Sobre o Palestrante:

Frederico Araújo Durão é Professor Associado do Instituto de Computação da Universidade Federal da Bahia. Realizou a sua investigação pós-doc no Insight Centre for Data Analysis, University College Cork, Irlanda, em 2016/2017. Em 2012, obteve o seu PhD em Ciência da Computação pela Universidade de Aalborg, Dinamarca. Frederico Durão tem revisto e publicado vários artigos em conferências e revistas relevantes para as áreas de Sistemas de Informação, Sistemas de Recomendação e Web Semântica. Atualmente é investigador sénior e líder de projeto do Grupo de Investigação RecSys no Brasil.

A palestra ““Insert Coin” – A long-term study of education gamification” será apresentada dia 9 de dezembro, às 15:00, na sala I-105, moderada pelo Prof. Daniel Mendes (DEI).

Resumo:

“Atualmente, a educação continua a seguir, na maior parte das vezes, o paradigma tradicional de ensino baseado em aulas expositivas, que tem sido a abordagem principal há mais de um século. Isto vai contra a atual dinâmica de aprendizagem pessoal, num mundo em que a informação está cada vez mais ao alcance dos nossos dedos. Este desfasamento entre as expectativas dos alunos e a prática na sala de aula tem um impacto direto no seu interesse, empenho e vontade de aprender. A gamificação tem-se mostrado promissora, nos últimos anos, como uma forma de trazer uma experiência semelhante a um jogo para vários contextos, incluindo a educação. Ao utilizá-la, a aprendizagem torna-se um jogo, esperando-se um aumento da motivação e, consequentemente, dos resultados da aprendizagem. Durante um período de treze anos, gamificámos uma unidade curricular de mestrado, “Produção de Conteúdos Multimédia”. Tentámos apelar à natureza de jogador dos alunos e proporcionar-lhes uma experiência flexível que lhes permitisse exercer a sua autonomia. Apresentaremos a forma como a experiência de jogo evoluiu ao longo desse período e as lições aprendidas com base nas expectativas e reações dos alunos neste contexto. Além disso, rapidamente se tornou claro que nem todos os alunos reagem à experiência gamificada da mesma forma. Podemos traçar o seu perfil utilizando uma taxonomia de quatro clusters, que tem demonstrado resiliência ao longo dos anos e que serve de base a uma experiência de aprendizagem adaptativa que nos permitirá, finalmente, afastarmo-nos da abordagem monolítica do mesmo ensino para todos.”

Sobre o palestrante:

Daniel Gonçalves é Professor Catedrático no Departamento de Informática do Instituto Superior Técnico – Universidade de Lisboa, e investigador na área de Computação Gráfica e Interação do INESC-ID, onde se especializou em Interação Humano-Computador (IHC), em particular em Gamificação Educacional e Visualização de Informação. Com uma prolífica produção académica, é autor de mais de 200 artigos científicos e de um livro de texto sobre IHC, orientou 11 alunos de doutoramento e mais de 100 de mestrado, e desempenhou um papel de destaque em vários projetos de investigação na área.

A palestra “Design and AI Innovation” será apresentada dia 24 de outubro, às 11:00, no Auditório B do INESC TEC.

Resumo:

“As early as 2011, Marc Andreesen identified that the world was facing a broad technological and economic shift in which software companies were poised to command much of the world’s economy. Now, 13 years later, the emergence of computing, data, and AI have impacted all industries. In this talk, I will examine how AI is changing my discipline, design, but also how design is changing AI. I will reflect on these ideas along with the emergence and rapid growth of generative AI and Large Language Models. I will identify new spaces for product innovation that utilize the most fruitful elements of the practice of design and AI as a design material.”

 Bio:

Jodi Forlizzi is the Herbert A. Simon Professor of Computer Science and Human-Computer Interaction in the School of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University. She is also the Associate Dean of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the School of Computer Science. Jodi has advocated for design research in all forms, mentoring peers, colleagues, and students in its structure and execution, and today it is an important part of the HCI community. Jodi studies the ethical impacts of human interaction with AI systems in front-line service industries including healthcare and hospitality. She also develops methods and tools to ensure that product developers can mitigate ethical harms and bias during product development. Jodi is an ACM SIGCHI Fellow and recently received its Lifetime Research Award. She recently testified to the US Senate in one an AI Innovation Briefing and is a central advisor to the AFL-CIO Tech Institute regarding technology research.