Haim Levkowitz was the Chair of the Richard A. Miner School of Computer and Information Science (formerly the Computer Science Department ) at the University of Massachusetts Lowell, in Lowell, MA, USA, from July 2016 through December 2022.
Abstract: Almost all interfaces I have interacted with exhibit some frustrating factors that always bring the same question: stupidity or malice? Unfortunately, there is plenty of both (sometimes in the same interface).
Recently, governments and other regulatory bodies have started paying attention to malicious designs -- these days referred to as "dark patterns," "dark designs," "deceptive patterns," or "deceptive designs." (The state of California in the US, the European Union, and India are just three examples of places that have enacted or are in the process of enacting some regulatory or legal constraints to such patterns.) Whichever the term, they all aim at the same goal: force the user into a choice or an action that s/he wouldn't want to make because it would put the user at some disadvantage for the benefit of the designing entity. Taking advantage of various aspects of human nature -- such as visual perception, the tendency of most people to stick with default options, people's preference to follow the majority, and the sheer hectic nature of life these days -- they overwhelmingly steer users towards choices and actions that they wouldn't have opted for under more "balanced" circumstances. I will take you through my more-than-50-year computing and many of the interfaces "then-through-now." As we get closer and closer to "now," we will examine some obviously just-stupid interfaces and a growing number of those that are deceptive, i.e., malicious.
Prof. Erkki Harjula, University of Oulu, Finland, delivered an invited talk in the Department of Computer Science & Engineering, IIT Indore on November 23, 2023.
Abstract: The University of Oulu and its 6G Flagship program are at the forefront of wireless communications system development. In this presentation, prof. Harjula will first introduce the University of Oulu and the 6G Flagship program and then present his team's activities in developing wireless system architectures for digital healthcare.
Prof. Prof. Suresh (Suraj) Kothari from Iowa State University, USA, delivered an invited talk in the Department of Computer Science & Engineering, IIT Indore on November 23, 2023.
Newton's groundbreaking mathematical insights paved the way for digital computing, transcending the numerical computation barriers of antiquity. Following Newton, Euler made substantial progress by laying the foundation for non-numeric computing. Our discussion will shed light on the contemporary relevance of mathematical thinking in the realm of computing. We will explore two main topics:
1. The computational challenges encountered in extensive research and algorithmic inventions, exemplified by a case where Google paid $336 million dollars.
2. The computational challenges related to cybersecurity and an innovative algebraic solution.
The CSE Events and Outreach team frequently visits the nearby government schools, helps them with career guidance and makes them aware of the technologies.
On our recent visit, we went to the Government School Simrol and cleared many doubts about technologies there, like how a machine recognises a person's face, how the cloud works, and how we make calls. The main challenge we encountered was that we had to teach the students from non-science backgrounds and make them understand how technology works.
These are the small contributions we can make to society, and in this way, we can also rejoice in our childhood memories 😀.
Apart from the talks and studies, the Events and Outreach team sometimes organizes Movie Screenings for the IIT Indore community. The films that inspire the young engineer/researcher are telecasted.
In our recent screening, we telecasted the movie "The Man Who Knews Infinity". It was based on the journey of great Indian scientist Srinivasa Ramanujan.
In future, we are planning to screen movies like "The Imitation Game", "Jobs", and "Rocketry: The Nambi Effect".
