18th Annual Conference of the
Italian Association of Cognitive Sciences
15-17 December 2022
Rovereto, Trento - Italy
Organized by: Department of Psychology and Cognitive Science and Center for Mind/Brain Sciences - CIMeC
The explaining mind
The human mind dedicates significant resources to generating and evaluating explanations for a vast array of phenomena, concepts and entities — including the mind itself. The study of explanations is an interdisciplinary enterprise that brings together research from a broad range of disciplines and has profound implications for virtually all areas of human knowledge.
Part of this work consists of identifying the methods and approaches best suited to defining what makes an explanation meaningful, as well as how natural and artificial systems carry out explanatory tasks. To properly address such questions, a variety of viewpoints are needed. In this sense, cognitive science, being interdisciplinary by nature, is uniquely equipped to advance our understanding of the topic.
The 18th AISC Conference will focus on the theme of the explaining mind, by considering a spectrum of issues. We welcome presentations on the state of the art and on ongoing research, as well as presentations on perspectives that encourage dialogue among the various subdisciplines of cognitive science.
Submission
Paper presentations should not exceed a length of 15 minutes for a total 20 minute session.
Important dates
- New extended submission deadline: 30 September 2022
- Notification of acceptance: 4 November 2022
- Registration deadline: 4 December 2022
- Conference date: 15 - 17 December 2022
- Social Dinner: 15 December 2022
Invited Speakers
Confirmed invited speakers:
OPHELIA DEROY (Faculty of Philosophy & Munich Center for Neuroscience, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich)
Ophelia Deroy holds the chair for Philosophy of Mind and Neuroscience and runs a multi-disciplinary lab at the Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich. She is the former deputy director of the Institute of Philosophy, at the University of London, where she remains an Associate Researcher. Her work integrates philosophy and cognitive neuroscience, and looks more particularly at ways in which our senses or different agents combine disparate or discordant information. Her research is known for proposing an alternative to the integrative views and for showing how our subsequent choices, and awareness continue to reflect the discordances between our initial sources of information.
She has published widely in philosophical and scientific journals, and is engaged in institutional programs to improve both interdisciplinary and science communication, notably when it comes to cognitive neuroscience.
JOHN DUNCAN (MRC Cognition and Brain Science Unit, University of Cambridge)
John Duncan is researcher and programme leader at the MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit of the University of Cambridge and Fellow of the Royal Society and the British Academy.
Throughout his research, Duncan has developed the notion of multiple-demand system, a brain network that would support general intelligence.
FOSCA GIANNOTTI (Scuola Normale Superiore)
Fosca Giannotti is professor of Computer Science at Scuola Normale Superiore, Pisa and associate at the Information Science and Technology Institute “A. Faedo” of the National Research Council, Pisa, Italy.
She has been recently awarded the prestigious European Resarch Council Advanced Grant “XAI – Science and Technology for the Explanation of AI Decision Making”.
She is among core PI scientists of the two AI network of Excellence: TAILOR and HumaneAI_Net. Professor Giannotti is a pioneering scientist in mobility data mining, social network analysis and privacy-preserving data mining and responsible AI. She co-leads the Pisa KDD Lab - Knowledge Discovery and Data Mining Laboratory, a joint research initiative of the University of Pisa and ISTI-CNR, founded in 1994 as one of the earliest research lab on data mining. She is a recognized international authority in social mining from Big Data: smart cities, human dynamics, social, trustworthy AI.
JOSE HERNANDEZ-ORALLO (Valencian Research Institute for Artificial Intelligence, Universitat Politècnica de València)
José Hernández-Orallo is Professor at the Valencian Research Institute for Artificial Intelligence of the Universitat Politècnica de València, Senior Research Fellow at Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence and Research Affiliate at the Centre for the Study of Existential Risk (University of Cambridge). He is a leading scholar in the field of AI psychometrics and investigates generality in artificial systems.
MARK KEANE (School of Computer Science and Informatics, University College Dublin)
Mark Keane is the Chair of Computer Science at University College Dublin (since 1998). From 2004-2007 he was Director of ICT (2004-2006) and Director General (2006-2007) at Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) where he oversaw a €700M research investment, advising the Irish Government on its €3.7B Strategy for Science, Technology & Innovation (SSTI).
Keane has a BA (UCD) in Psychology and a PhD (TCD) in Cognitive Psychology and previously worked in the University of London, the Open University, Cardiff University and Trinity College Dublin (FTCD, 1994). He has published 170+ articles and 25 books (including Cognitive Psychology: A Student’s Handbook, 7 Editions with M.W. Eysenck). He is an ECCAI Fellow.
He currently works on cognitive models of surprise and the unexpected, and explainable AI.
Venue
Conference venue
The conference will take place at Palazzo Piomarta, corso Bettini 84, Rovereto (Trento), jointly organized by CIMeC - Center for Mind/Brain Sciences and Department of Psychology and Cognitive Science
Palazzo Piomarta, also known as "Palazzo Istruzione", stands on Corso Bettini, which was built along the traces of the ancient Via Claudia Augusta, a road built 2,000 years ago that led from the Adriatic Sea and the Po River Valley north to Bavaria and the Danube River. The earliest historical records of Palazzo Piomarta, dating to 1771, are the commissioning of the building by count Gaetano Piomarta. Designed as the personal abode of the count, its later owners, the counts Alberti, in 1852 gave it to the city of Rovereto. The city designated the palazzo to serve various educational institutions, a function continued to today, with only a few exceptions: during the two World Wars it was repurposed as a center for military operations, and in 2000, a fire forced it to shut down. A restoration project allowed it to reopen in 2008.
In 1999, the city granted a free, 30-year lease to the University of Trento.
How to get to Rovereto
By train
Rovereto's railway station is served by the Bologna-Brennero line. For timetables, visit www.trenitalia.com or www.italotreno.it/en
The station is about a 15-minute leisurely walk from the historical center, and about 20 minutes from the conference site. There is also a taxi service available at the railway station.
Rovereto taxi service: tel. +39 0464 421365; +39 0464 421555; +39 0464 480066.
By car
From the A22 Brennero Motorway, take the exit Rovereto sud/Lago di Garda nord or the Rovereto nord exit.
By plane
- Verona Catullo of Villafranca Verona
The closest commercial airport. A shuttle bus connects the airport with the Verona Porta Nuova railway station - Venice Treviso Canova di Treviso.
A shuttle service and bus n°6 regularly connects the airport to the Treviso railway station (stop: De Gasperi), while the ATVO shuttle connects to the Mestre railway station. - Bergamo Caravaggio di Orio al Serio.
The ATB bus regularly connects the airport with the railway station of Bergamo. Additionally, Flixbus directly connects Orio al Serio airport with Rovereto.
By Flixbus
Rovereto can be reached with Flixbus from Austria, Germany and several Italian cities. The bus stops in Piazzale Orsi, in front of the train station.
Moving around in Rovereto
- Urban buses
You can use buses to move around the city or to reach nearby places. Check Trentino Trasporti - Taxi
Taxi services is available from Rovereto train station (Piazzale Orsi, 9) or call
+39 0464 421365; +39 0464 421555; +39 0464 480066. - By foot
Consider the environmentally friendly option! Everything in Rovereto is within walking distance, and walking around allows you to soak up the city’s characteristic center. - Bike/scooter sharing
Unfortunately, short-term bike and scooter sharing has not yet reached Rovereto. However, several bike shops do offer single-day or multi-day bicycle rentals, including Tettamanti bike shop, along the same street as the conference site.
Accomodation
Please keep in mind that Rovereto is a small city, and around Christmas time it experiences a spike in tourism due to the traditional Christmas Market. We thus encourage you to book lodging as soon as possible. If there is no space remaining in Rovereto, it is possible to stay outside the center or in Trento and to reach Rovereto by train (15 minutes) or by bus (Extraurbano 301, about 1 hour).
Information about Rovereto
Nestled among picturesque pre-Alp mountains and vineyards, Rovereto sits at the center of the Adige Valley. Known as the City of Oak, due to the once-abundant oak trees (the symbol of Rovereto), Rovereto is also called the City of Peace, thanks to the large memorial bell called the Bell of the Fallen (Campana dei Caduti). Cast from the melted bronze of cannons from all nations that participated in WWI, it is today the largest sounding bell in Europe. It sounds over town 100 times every evening at nightfall in memory of all who have fallen in war.
Rovereto is noted in classical musical circles for being the site of Mozart’s first concerts on his first visit to Italy. The locations of both his first public and his first private concerts are commemorated, and Rovereto serves as the seat of the Italian Mozart Association to this day.
Exploring the streets of this small city allows the visitor to journey through its rich history, from the medieval walls of Castelbarco to the 18th Century palazzo of Corso Bettini. Since the conference will take place in December, attendees will also be able to visit the traditional Christmas Markets of Rovereto and other nearby cities and villages for a vin brulée or a plate of crauti and tortel di patate.
Last but not least, Rovereto is surrounded by nature among which are many beautiful points of interest, from Lake Garda to Monte Baldo Natural Park. Winter sports abound nearby, and various ski stations can be reached in an hour or more by car and even by public transport.
Further information about Rovereto.
Visit the AISC 2022 Map for suggestions on what to visit and where to eat or have a drink.
Grants & prizes
In 2022 three AISC Student Travel Grants (up to 250 Euros each) were established to support attendance at the Society’s conference for AISC student members.
Undergraduate and graduate students can apply for travel support to attend the conference. Any student who is the presenter of a paper accepted at the conference is eligible. Awardees will be selected on the basis of submission quality as emerged from the reviewers’ scores (in case of equal judgment, the younger candidate will have precedence).
Student authors can send an email to giulia.andrighetto@gmail.com and infoaisc2022@gmail.com and indicate whether they want to be considered for the grant as part of the submission process.
After paper acceptance decisions have been made, selected authors will be contacted by the AISC Conference Awards Chairs.
Vittorio Girotto Prize, Best Paper AISC
From all abstracts accepted for the conference, the best works are eligible for the Best Paper AISC prize, established in memory of Vittorio Girotto. Authors of selected contributions will receive an invitation to submit an extended version of their works to the journal Sistemi Intelligenti. The Editorial Board of Sistemi Intelligenti will determine the winning paper, which will be published with special mention on the journal. Additionally, the authors will receive a 300 euros book voucher from the publisher of the journal, Il Mulino.
Other finalist papers will be mentioned on the journal, and it is possible they will be published there as well, if deemed of adequate scientific value by the Editorial Board.
Maria Miceli prize
From the abstracts accepted for the conference, the best works on topics involving the psychology of emotions, social interaction, anticipation and values are eligible for the Marica De Vincenzi Foundation's Maria Miceli Prize. The prize consists of a € 1,000 award, as well as the publication of the winning work in the journal "Sistemi Intelligenti”.
The prize is open to any work presented at AISC (midterm or annual) or AIP conferences that addresses the themes of Maria Miceli's research, for whom the prize is named. The AISC executive board and the conference organizing committee will select the AISC nominees, who must then submit full papers, following deadlines and formats that will be published on the AISC website.
Registration
Conference Registration
As in previous editions, registering for the AISC 2022 conference is free for all members of the Italian Association for Cognitive Science (AISC). Those who are not registered with AISC for 2023 can register by following the instructions on the page Registration
To participate in the conference, please use the CIMeC Workshop Registration System
Registration deadline: 4 December 2022
Social dinner
The social dinner will take place on Thursday, 15 December 2022 at Ristorante Novecento of Hotel Rovereto (Corso Rosmini, n. 82 - Rovereto).
The cost of the social dinner is € 45.00 per participant. The amount must be paid in cash at the conference registration table at participants’ arrival.
Committee
Organizing Committee
- Alessandro Bogani (University of Trento)
- Vincenzo Crupi (University of Turin)
- Sara Dellantonio (University of Trento)
- Stefania Pighin (University of Trento)
- Katya Tentori (University of Trento)
Scientific Committee
- Cristina Amoretti (University of Genoa)
- Giulia Andrighetto (ISTC-CNR Rome)
- Francesco Bianchini (University of Bologna)
- Enzo Crupi (University of Turin)
- Filippo Domaneschi (University of Genoa)
- Francesco Ferretti (Università di Roma Tre)
- Francesco Gagliardi (Italian Association of Cognitive Sciences)
- Antonio Lieto (University of Turin)
- Stefania Moretti (University of Genoa)
- Stefania Pighin (University of Trento)
- Alessio Plebe (University of Messina)
- Marco Viola (University of Turin)
Local Committee
- Alessia Caponio (University of Trento)
- Alessia La Micela (University of Trento)
- Sarah Placì (University of Trento)
- Benjamin Timberlake (University of Trento)
Contacts
AISC: Giulia Andrighetto (giulia.andrighetto@gmail.com)
Local Organization: infoaisc2022@gmail.com