Please RSVP at this form. Zoom link is available upon RSVP. NOTE: Location change to EOW 430. Abstract Ecosystems and biodiversity are increasingly being impacted by human activities. Detecting and understanding changes in biodiversity is a challenge for a couple of reasons. 1) Transcending the results of an individual study or site within a limited […]

Speaker: Steve M. Easterbrook, University of Toronto Abstract: Global climate models play a central role in climate science, drawing together broad inter-disciplinary teams to study how the atmosphere, oceans, ice sheets, and biosphere interact - and how their behaviours shift in response to changing levels of greenhouse gases. Yet few people outside the climate science […]

The AI gold rush has led to new AI models and systems being announced nearly every week. As with most new technologies, these systems have the potential to reduce existing accessibility problems, but may also create new ways to exclude people with disabilities. Beyond its impact on traditional accessibility practices, AI may fundamentally change the […]

Title: Augmenting k-mer sketching for (meta)genomic sequence comparisons Abstract: Over the last decade, k-mer sketching (e.g. minimizers or MinHash) to create succinct summaries of long sequences has proven effective at improving the speed of sequence comparisons. However, rigorously characterizing the accuracy of these techniques has been more difficult. In this talk, I'll touch on three […]

Title: Machine Learning in Real World Abstract: Machine learning (ML) with (deep) neural networks has gained tremendous recognition by academics and substantial industrial investments over a decade, which has led to a steady stream of advances such as enabling technologists to detect anomalies in medical images and providing high-accuracy translation between certain Pacific island and […]

Title: The Impostor Phenomenon in Software Engineering: Challenges and Implications Abstract: The Impostor Phenomenon (IP) is a well-documented psychological experience in which individuals doubt their accomplishments and fear being exposed as frauds, despite external evidence of their competence. In software engineering, a field characterized by rapid technological change and high-performance expectations, IP can have profound […]

HumanAISE: Human-centred Software Engineering for AI - Making sense of our place in the age of AI Speaker: Rashina Hoda, Monash University Slides Abstract: In this talk, Rashina will explore the changing landscape of software engineering (SE) in the age of AI, including our role as researchers in this rather exciting but somewhat unnerving new […]

Tutorial on Qualitative Research with Socio-Technical Grounded Theory Led by: Rashina Hoda, Monash University Slides Abstract: This tutorial will help attendees gain an understanding of the basics of qualitative research and hands-on experience with conducting systematic and rigorous qualitative data analysis using socio-technical grounded theory (STGT). It will be useful for students and professional researchers […]

Speaker: Brad Edwards, Palo Alto Networks Registration required due to room capacity Abstract: Cybercriminals are now using commercially available AI tools to augment their operations — a shift that recent incidents have made difficult to ignore. This session moves past the hype and fear to examine how agentic AI is actually being used in offensive […]

Led by: Brad Edwards, Palo Alto Networks Registration required as seats are limited Abstract: This workshop provides direct, practical exposure to agentic AI in an offensive context. Participants will work within a controlled environment to observe and interact with AI agents executing attack sequences against live infrastructure. The session is designed to move understanding from conceptual […]