Personnel announcements

Seth Flaxman's research focuses on the relationship between AI and society. He combines expertise in machine learning and statistics, with a particular focus on applications in population and global health. During the Covid-19 pandemic, his widely cited computational epidemiology studies significantly influenced policy decisions in Europe, the US and around the world. He is also recognised internationally for his contributions to social computing, including his early work on filter bubbles and echo chambers and the right to explanation. He works closely with the World Health Organization, UNICEF, and the World Food Program on data-driven models of physical activity, climate threats to child health, and food insecurity.

Focus on Trustworthy AI

The new AI professorship will be based in the Department of Computer Science at RPTU. “Seth Flaxman will play a key role in our research initiatives in collaboration with the Max Planck Institute for Software Systems,” explains Professor Christoph Garth, Dean of the Department. “He will act as a catalyst and networker across disciplinary boundaries, advancing cutting-edge research aimed at responsibly shaping AI-driven societal change. In doing so, he will strengthen computer science at RPTU, the AICS initiative, and Kaiserslautern’s role as an AI hub.” Krishna Gummadi, Scientific Director at the Max Planck Institute for Software Systems and one of the initiators of AICS, adds: “His appointment will create new opportunities for collaboration between RPTU and MPI for Software Systems and help advance AI research that truly benefits society.”

A key objective of AICS is interdisciplinary and translational research. “Like any technology, AI has the potential to both benefit society as a whole and deepen existing inequalities,” says Seth Flaxman. “Humans created this technology and we are responsible for its impacts on society. Given the rapid pace of AI development, the AICS initiative will focus research on simultaneously understanding the impacts of AI on society and on foundational AI research to enable robust and responsible systems.”

Rounding off the AICS research initiative

Seth Flaxman’s appointment also marks the beginning of the process of appointing three more professors, who are expected to help shape the AICS initiative further.

These appointments have been made possible with the support of the state of Rhineland-Palatinate: “I am delighted that we have acquired the internationally renowned scientist Seth Flaxman for RPTU and the Max Planck Institute for Software Systems in Kaiserslautern. His expertise will allow him to integrate the university’s and the Max Planck Society’s research areas seamlessly, creating an impact that will extend well beyond the borders of the state of Rhineland-Palatinate. His research builds bridges to the societal challenges that accompany the opportunities of AI usage,” says Secretary of State Dr Tamara Müller. “Since the responsible, human-centred use of AI is a central issue for Rhineland-Palatinate, we are very happy to support this high-profile appointment with additional resources as part of the ‘AI, Computing and Society’ initiative and our AI agenda.”

Funding from Wübben Stiftung Wissenschaft

Wübben Stiftung Wissenschaft also contributed to the success of this high-profile appointment. Through its Appointment Accelerator Program, the foundation is providing approximately 390,000 euros in funding to support the researcher’s onboarding.

About Seth Flaxman

Seth Flaxman earned a bachelor’s degree in computer science and mathematics from Harvard University in 2008 and worked and studied at École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in 2009-2010. Subsequently, he worked as a research fellow at the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva, Switzerland. He completed his Ph.D. in machine learning and public policy at Carnegie Mellon University in the United States in 2015. He held academic positions as a postdoctoral fellow in machine learning and computational statistics at the University of Oxford, as a lecturer and then senior lecturer in machine learning in the Department of Mathematics at Imperial College London. In 2021, he was appointed associate professor of computer science at the University of Oxford.

Seth Flaxman is also a co-founder of the “Machine Learning & Global Health” (MLGH.net) network, an international research consortium that brings together partners in the United Kingdom, Europe, Asia, and Africa. He has received various awards, including the “Samsung AI Researcher of the Year” Award in 2020, as one of five early-career researchers recognized worldwide in the field of AI. He has presented his research at institutions including Harvard, Berkeley, MIT, NYU, Columbia, Yale, UCL, and EPFL.