Social Machinery and Intelligence

Social machines are systems formed by technical and human elements interacting in a structured manner. The use of digital platforms as mediators allows large numbers of human participants to join such mechanisms, creating systems where interconnected digital and human components operate as a single machine capable of highly sophisticated behaviour. Under certain conditions, such systems can be described as autonomous and goal-driven agents. Many examples of modern Artificial Intelligence (AI) can be regarded as instances of this class of mechanisms. We argue that this type of autonomous social machines has provided a new paradigm for the design of intelligent systems marking a new phase in the field of AI. The consequences of this observation range from methodological, philosophical to ethical. On the one side, it emphasises the role of Human-Computer Interaction in the design of intelligent systems, while on the other side it draws attention to both the risks for a human being and those for a society relying on mechanisms that are not necessarily controllable. The difficulty by companies in regulating the spread of misinformation, as well as those by authorities to protect task-workers managed by a software infrastructure, could be just some of the effects of this technological paradigm

Non-empirical problems in fair machine learning

The problem of fair machine learning has drawn much attention over the last few years and the bulk of offered solutions are, in principle, empirical. However, algorithmic fairness also raises important conceptual issues that would fail to be addressed if one relies entirely on empirical considerations. Herein, I will argue that the current debate has developed an empirical framework that has brought important contributions to the development of algorithmic decision-making, such as new techniques to discover and prevent discrimination, additional assessment criteria, and analyses of the interaction between fairness and predictive accuracy. However, the same framework has also suggested higher-order issues regarding the translation of fairness into metrics and quantifiable trade-offs. Although the (empirical) tools which have been developed so far are essential to address discrimination encoded in data and algorithms, their integration into society elicits key (conceptual) questions such as: What kind of assumptions and decisions underlies the empirical framework? How do the results of the empirical approach penetrate public debate? What kind of reflection and deliberation should stakeholders have over available fairness metrics? I will outline the empirical approach to fair machine learning, i.e. how the problem is framed and addressed, and suggest that there are important non-empirical issues that should be tackled. While this work will focus on the problem of algorithmic fairness, the lesson can extend to other conceptual problems in the analysis of algorithmic decision-making such as privacy and explainability

Selbstbestimmung und Parteien in Südtirol: Territoriale und europäische Parteistrategien zwischen Autonomie und Sezession = Self-determination and parties in South Tyrol: Territorial and European party strategies between autonomy and secession. EDAP 3/2016

Since the final conflict settlement between Italy and Austria in 1992, ethnic politics in South Tyrol experienced insightful transformations. The consociational political system, which was implemented to tame centrifugal tendencies, has been losing its balance over the last decade, with proautonomy stances ceding ground to secessionist pressure in the Germanspeaking intra-ethnic arena. Adopting a contextual and strategic perspective on self-determination, this article traces the evolution of ethno-regionalist party strategies on the territorial and European dimension of party competition through a quantitative and qualitative content analysis of their electoral manifestos in the period between 1993 and 2013. In line with newest research on party strategies, the article empirically shows the strategic capacity of ethnic minority parties to challenge each other not only by shifting their positions on the different issue dimensions but also by the reframing of issues. While the increasing competition on the center-periphery axis leads to a new territorial frame, the rise of secessionism is accompagned by an end to the pro-European elite consensus

Probing light dark sectors via new macroscopic forces

openNew dynamics from light and weakly-coupled sectors beyond the Standard Model may manifest as long- range forces between visible matter particles. Such new forces can be searches for by means of a variety of experimental approaches. In this thesis, we re-examine the calculation of non-relativistic potentials mediated by new light particles coupled to the Standard Model, employing a general parametrization of the new interactions and going beyond the leading order Born approximation. We correct and integrate previous results, and point out as well the presence of new relevant contact terms arising at next-to-leading order in the non-relativistic expansion.New dynamics from light and weakly-coupled sectors beyond the Standard Model may manifest as long- range forces between visible matter particles. Such new forces can be searches for by means of a variety of experimental approaches. In this thesis, we re-examine the calculation of non-relativistic potentials mediated by new light particles coupled to the Standard Model, employing a general parametrization of the new interactions and going beyond the leading order Born approximation. We correct and integrate previous results, and point out as well the presence of new relevant contact terms arising at next-to-leading order in the non-relativistic expansion

Design and analysis of a RFQ resonant cavity for the IFMIF project

The IFMIF RFQ is designed with very challenging specifications to accelerate a 125mA deuterons beam from 0.1 MeV to 5 MeV at a frequency of 175 MHz, consists of 18 modules with length of ~550 mm each. The total lenght is 9.78 m. During the three years of PhD the candidate was involved on different aspects, from the mechanical design to the quality control on the production process. Chapter 1 presents a general overview of the IFMIF project and the scientific context. On chapter 2 the design of the cooling system of the modules of the accelerator will be described, with the development of thermal-structural and fluid-thermal-structural numerical analyses. Chapters 3 and 4 will describe the development of an in-house technology for the vertical brazing and the fixation tooling, by means a strict collaboration of the section of Padova of INFN and the LNL. The developments of 1D and 3D FE analyses for the prediction of the thermal brazing cycle will be described. Moreover, the improvements on the control (visual and ultrasonic inspection) of the brazed joints and the feedbacks to the mechanical design will be presented. Chapter 5 will describe the various phases of the production of the modules of the RFQ with the most important mechanical design aspects. The production of the IFMIF EVEDA RFQ accelerator is a quite challenging task due to the narrow tolerance of the pieces that should be guarantee also after some thermal treatments for the brazing. The focus will be in particular to the quality control of the single elements and the entire modules during the production: -The dimensional quality control, prevalently by CMM with active scanning probe. -The quality assurance of the brazed joints by visual and the ultrasonic inspection. Their influence for the design choices and the solution of eventual problem will be described

A ‘Little Ethics’ for Algorithmic Decision-Making

In this paper we present a preliminary framework aimed at navigating and motivating the ethical aspects of AI systems. Following Ricoeur’s ethics we highlight distinct levels of analysis emphasising the need of personal commitment and intersubjectivity, and suggesting connection with existing AI ethics initiatives

The 2013 South Tyrolean Election: The End of SVP Hegemony

The results of the 2013 South Tyrolean elections, held on 27 of October, caused major changes in the political system of the autonomy. For the first time since the Second World War the South Tyrolean People’s Party (SVP) lost its absolute majority. While the German secessionist parties increased their electoral support, the Italian parties suffered heavy electoral losses, thus leading to an underrepresentation of Italian-speakers in the political institutions. The election report shows how the electoral results affect the South Tyrolean system of ethnic proportional representation, which is characterised by an increasing asymmetry

Role of psychosocial stress in complex diseases

peer reviewedComplex diseases are chronic diseases where the interrelations between genetic predisposition and environmental factors play an essential role in the arisen and the maintenance of the pathology. Upon psychological stress, the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and the sympathetic nervous system are activated resulting in release of glucocorticoids and catecholamines. Chronic stress may induce complex diseases where alterations of nervous, endocrine and immune systems are involved. Thus, chronic stress is more likely to induce a range of effects, depending on the capacity of the subject to cope with stress. CRH ("Corticotropin Releasing Hormone") is a key factor in the stress-immunity relationship. In this article, we propose an overview of the interrelations between central nervous, endocrine and immune systems and implications for health and diseases. The objective for the clinician is to propose therapeutic strategies targeting changes in human behaviour to cope with a potentially stressful environment

Machine Decisions and Human Consequences

As we increasingly delegate decision-making to algorithms, whether directly or indirectly, important questions emerge in circumstances where those decisions have direct consequences for individual rights and personal opportunities, as well as for the collective good. A key problem for policymakers is that the social implications of these new methods can only be grasped if there is an adequate comprehension of their general technical underpinnings. The discussion here focuses primarily on the case of enforcement decisions in the criminal justice system, but draws on similar situations emerging from other algorithms utilised in controlling access to opportunities, to explain how machine learning works and, as a result, how decisions are made by modern intelligent algorithms or 'classifiers'. It examines the key aspects of the performance of classifiers, including how classifiers learn, the fact that they operate on the basis of correlation rather than causation, and that the term 'bias' in machine learning has a different meaning to common usage. An example of a real world 'classifier', the Harm Assessment Risk Tool (HART), is examined, through identification of its technical features: the classification method, the training data and the test data, the features and the labels, validation and performance measures. Four normative benchmarks are then considered by reference to HART: (a) prediction accuracy (b) fairness and equality before the law (c) transparency and accountability (d) informational privacy and freedom of expression, in order to demonstrate how its technical features have important normative dimensions that bear directly on the extent to which the system can be regarded as a viable and legitimate support for, or even alternative to, existing human decision-makers

Voto dual y efectos de segundo orden en las elecciones autonómicas y generales cuasi simultáneas de 2019 en España

Las elecciones autonómicas de 2019 en España se celebraron en un contexto de inestabilidad política y polarización en el país y apenas veintiocho días después de las elecciones generales. Aprovechando este escenario electoral cuasi simultáneo y sin precedentes, este artículo analiza el cambio de voto entre elecciones autonómicas y generales, tanto a nivel agregado como individual. Específicamente, el artículo explora si las elecciones regionales de 2019 cumplen con las expectativas del modelo de elecciones de segundo orden. Los resultados muestran que la cuasi simultaneidad entre las elecciones autonómicas y generales no implicó un mayor nivel de congruencia electoral. Además, si bien la mayoría de las predicciones del modelo de elecciones de segundo orden respecto a los resultados electorales agregados son válidas para las elecciones autonómicas de 2019, nuestros hallazgos sugieren que el voto dual a nivel individual no responde a la lógica del modelo de elecciones de segundo orden, sino más bien a consideraciones políticas regionales.The 2019 regional elections in Spain were held in a context of political instability and polarization in the country and just 28 days after the national elections. Taking advantage of this unprecedented quasi-simultaneous electoral setting, this article analyzes vote-switching between regional and national elections, both at the aggregate and individual levels. Specifically, it explores whether the 2019 regional elections match the expectations of the second-order election model. The results show that quasi-simultaneity between regional and national elections did not entail a higher level of election congruence. In addition, while most of the predictions of the second-order election model regarding aggregate election results hold for the 2019 regional elections, our findings suggest that dual voting at the individual level does not respond to the logic of the second-order election model but rather to regional political considerations