Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-erc-participations-et-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Projet ERC : PLA-STEER (Horizon Europe, appel 2024, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Computer Science and Informatics
Entité participante : Université Bocconi — Pays : Italie — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1316544.0 €

In scenarios like online advertising markets and financial exchanges, autonomous, self-interested learning agents engage in strategic interactions via a shared platform. Platforms typically opt for a passive role, providing the shared infrastructure necessary for the operation of the multi-learner environment, while keeping learning procedures decentralized. Fully centralized systems can potentially yield superior outcomes by optimizing shared objectives like social welfare, but they are seldom chosen. The goal of this project is to bridge the gap between these two extremes by establishing the theoretical foundations of semi-centralized platforms (SCP). SCPs aim to combine the best attributes of both centralized and decentralized systems, enabling next-generation platforms to operate efficiently at scale with the flexibility of decentralized learning, while also being able to steer learning agents towards desirable objectives. Using tools from online learning and computational game theory, we will develop innovative techniques to determine when and how platforms should actively influence the actions of learning agents. In this endeavor, we will i) develop a better understanding of the learning dynamics of traditional platforms; ii) explore methods to overcome well-known computational challenges that hinder the convergence of multi-learner systems towards shared objectives; and iii) extend fundamental game-theoretic models to realistic settings. This research will pave the way for practical applications on real-world platforms and address pressing concerns related to fairness and accountability in their outcomes, which are expected to become even more significant as machine-learning algorithms gain wider adoption.

Mots-clés : online learning,learning dynamics,bilateral trade
Projet ERC : ObfusQation (Horizon Europe, appel 2022, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Computer Science and Informatics
Entité participante : Université Bocconi — Pays : Italie — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1458750.0 €

Program obfuscation is a central building block in cryptography and has been conjectured to be crypto-complete: It subsumes virtually all known cryptographic primitives, and extends the scope of cryptography with new capabilities. Yet, when bringing quantum computation into the picture, our understanding of obfuscation is inadequate: (i) On the one hand, quantum algorithms break most known constructions of obfuscation, and the few that survive are based on poorly understood computational assumptions. (ii) On the other hand, obfuscation is limited to classical programs and thus fails to cater the potential advantages of quantum computation. The notion of obfuscation of quantum programs is largely unexplored. At present, we do not even know a heuristic construction of quantum obfuscation, let alone a provably-secure one.  The goal of this research program is to place obfuscation on firm footing, even in a quantum world. We will develop new constructions of classical obfuscation that are provably secure against quantum algorithms. Then, using this cryptographic tool, we will systematically tackle the question of obfuscating quantum programs. Quantum obfuscation will provide the theoretical foundation for cryptography secure against quantum attacks, and will open the floodgate for new applications of cryptography in a quantum world.
Projet ERC : PERSONAE (Horizon Europe, appel 2023, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Computer Science and Informatics
Entité participante : Université Bocconi — Pays : Italie — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1499775.0 €

My project, PERSONAE, will make language technology (LT) accessible and valuable to everyone. I will revolutionize research in subjective tasks in NLP such as abusive language detection and sentiment and emotion analysis by developing a new field called personal NLP, yielding new datasets, tasks, and algorithms. This new research area will explore subjective tasks from the perspective of the individual as information receiver, making users active actors in the creation of LTs instead of mere recipients. This will allow for a more tailored, effective approach to NLP model design, resulting in better models overall. Each person has their own interests and preferences based on their background and experience. These factors impact their views of what makes them happy, angry, or depressed over time. Language technologies (LTs) can consider individual preferences. However, current research presumes a static view of subjectivity: that a single ground truth underlies subjective tasks such as abusive language detection, an assumption that lacks human variability and prevents universal access to LTs. Language-based AI such as virtual assistants is widely available. But despite significant scientific advances, most LT applications are inaccessible to individuals and their public's opinion has become increasingly negative. GPT-3's 2020 release boosted business-oriented applications such as copywriting and chatbots, yet few that let people improve their lives—for example, by controlling what they see on social media. This gap becomes more pronounced for subjective tasks.  I will design subjective LTs that can be adapted by individuals at will over time. Based on an ambitious meta approach able to generalize from existing, disconnected work, PERSONAE will rely on fully personalizable privacy-aware algorithms that can be used by anyone. It will reveal benefits of LT far beyond those of existing systems, paving the way for future applications.

Mots-clés : natural language processing,subjectivity
Projet ERC : NTAOTC (Horizon Europe, appel 2022, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Social Sciences and Humanities
Panel : Individuals, Markets and Organisations
Entité participante : Université Bocconi — Pays : Italie — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1416812.5 €

Many financial assets trade in decentralized over-the-counter (OTC) markets, that is, there is no centralized marketplace and investors need to search for counterparties that are willing to trade. Contrary to centralized markets, in OTC markets a substantial share of available assets is non-traded. Existing OTC market research focuses on frequently traded assets but is unable to talk about non-traded assets (NTA). But, why do many assets in OTC markets not trade in the first place? Which frictions give rise to NTA? These questions are highly relevant for policy makers and financial stability as well because OTC markets play a central role in the financial system. This proposal presents three empirical projects that will advance our understanding of the role of intermediation frictions in OTC markets through a novel perspective—the lens of NTA. Exploiting unique data for one of the largest OTC markets (U.S. corporate bonds), the research agenda comprises the following components: 1) Search Frictions and Non-Traded Assets. This part examines the role of search frictions for NTA. Ex-ante it is not obvious whether a large share of NTA is symptomatic of low or high search frictions. The idea is to exploit different types of shocks that affect investors’ search frictions and to investigate their impact on NTA. 2) Financial Intermediaries and Non-Traded Assets. This part studies whether financial intermediaries matter for NTA. Do assets trade more likely when intermediaries are financially unconstrained? To answer this question, the idea is to exploit detailed data on trading links between investors and dealers. 3) Corporate Finance and Non-Traded Assets. This part examines whether firms derive financial flexibility from NTA. If assets do not trade, then their investor base remains stable and investor-issuer relationships emerge. The idea is to study whether firms are more likely to implement debt management policies in NTA.

Mots-clés : financial markets,over the counter markets,intermediation frictions,financial intermediaries,corporate financial implications of over the counter markets
Projet ERC : EcIMPACT (Horizon Europe, appel 2024, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Life Science
Panel : Prevention,  Diagnosis and T reatment of Human Diseases
Entité participante : Université technique de Munich — Pays : Allemagne — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1496598.0 €

Overweight and obesity account for one eighth of the disease burden and five percent of health care expenditures in Europe and cause large societal productivity losses. Thus, cost-effective strategies for the prevention of overweight and obesity are urgently needed to assure the financial sustainability of health and social security systems. Population-based interventions (PBIs) that change the social and environmental context are promising strategies, however, robust evidence on their health and economic impact is lacking. This uncertainty might lead to inefficient resource allocation and harm for patients and society. In EcIMPACT, I aim to 1) quantify the real-world causal effect of two policy relevant PBIs on body weight, 2) estimate the causal effect of excess body weight on health and economic outcomes, and 3) model the long-term health and economic impact of PBIs by combining results from Aims 1 and 2. I will do so by combining innovative methods from economics, public health, and epidemiology. Specifically, I will pool data from large cohort studies, surveillance initiatives, and household panels across Europe and use econometric methods that exploit natural policy experiments (Aim 1), link primary and secondary data sources that comprise granular genetic, phenotypic, and socio-economic information and apply cutting-edge Mendelian Randomization techniques (Aim 2), and build a simulation model that integrates those estimated parameters in a novel model type (Aim 3). Synthesizing cutting-edge methods from different academic disciplines, EcIMPACT will provide urgently needed evidence for decision makers on the value of PBIs that will ultimately improve population health. EcIMPACT will advance public health research substantially by showing that combinations of innovative quasi-experimental and model-based techniques, which leverage the full potential of modern data infrastructures, can guide health policy in an efficient and timely manner.

Mots-clés : impact evaluation,health economics,natural experimants,simulation modeling
Projet ERC : AGAPP (Horizon Europe, appel 2023, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Social Sciences and Humanities
Panel : Institutions, Governance and Legal Systems
Entité participante : Université technique de Munich — Pays : Allemagne — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1345622.25 €

In our digitalising world, algorithmic systems are widely used in public governance. However, evidence suggests that algorithmic governance is perceived as less legitimate compared to governance that involves humans. Despite well-known deficiencies and biases in human decision-making, perceived legitimacy of algorithmic governance increases when humans are present in some capacity (so-called humans-in-the-loop). I argue that in order to explain the legitimizing effect of humans-in-the-loop we need a theory of how legitimacy judgments are created and changed in the minds of individuals when they encounter algorithmic systems of rule. To this end, AGAPP infuses the study of political legitimacy with a theory of ecological rationality stemming from cognitive science. I propose a novel Legitimation Heuristic Model to explore the cognitive dynamics of legitimacy judgments as context-bound evaluations. The empirical investigation focuses on a new European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS). ETIAS is a paradigmatic case of algorithmic governance as it relies on big data and algorithms to perform risk profiling and implement migration policy. This project collects empirical data on how individuals assess the legitimacy of ETIAS by means of rigorous mixed-method research design. It integrates methods from Human-Computer-Interaction research (think-aloud protocols of participants’ interaction with a mock-up ETIAS interface) and includes visual elicitation into focus groups and survey experiments to ensure effective treatment. AGAPP breaks new ground as it extends the use of heuristic assessment models to legitimacy research. While AGAPP focuses on applications of Legitimation Heuristics Model to algorithmic governance, if the model turns out to be an accurate portrayal of legitimacy judgment process, it has wider implications for other governance contexts and for the study of cognition of legitimacy more broadly.

Mots-clés : algorithmic governance,legitimacy,ecological rationality,heuristics,evaluative judgments,automation,algorithmic decision making,digitalisation in public sector
Projet ERC : SODI (Horizon Europe, appel 2022, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Social Sciences and Humanities
Panel : The Soci al World and Its Interactions
Entité participante : Université de Fribourg-en-Brisgau — Pays : Allemagne — Rôle : Partner
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 683126.25 €

Over millions of years, human survival has crucially depended on rapport building, seeking others’ social support, and sharing resources in groups. This social context has created constant evolutionary pressure to develop specific biological systems geared to interacting face-to-face with physically present others. For just a few years, we have been living in a rapidly developing digital world where interactions across society (education, friendship, health care) shift to face-to-screen interaction – strongly accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic. How does this core change affect our social interactions? In SODI, I will contrast face-to-face with face-to-screen “live” interactions of many individuals, taking a multi-method, biopsychological approach. According to my theoretical working model, face-to-screen interactions fail to entirely engage specific, socially relevant hormonal systems (oxytocin, μ-opioids, testosterone), which evolved to process context-dependent stimuli from face-to-face contact (mutual eye gaze, physical contact, social odour). Consequently, hormone-mediated beneficial social effects should be attenuated, while adding social stimuli should ameliorate this difference. To test my model’s assumptions, I will tackle three objectives. How do face-to-screen interactions differ from face-to-face ones? Can we “socially enrich” face-to-screen interactions by adding previously lacking social stimuli? Does experimentally modulating hormone levels in the brain affect differences between face-to-face and face-to-screen interactions? In a radically innovative approach, my research combines experimental-psychological interaction paradigms, neurophysiological and subjective measures, and hormone administration to understand the merits and flaws of interacting in a digital reality. Moreover, my project aims to strike new paths for “socially enriching” face-to-screen interactions, thereby unfolding the full potential of the digital (r)evolution.
Projet ERC : LEGO (Horizon Europe, appel 2025, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Fundamental Constituents of Matter
Entité participante : Université technique de Munich — Pays : Allemagne — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1499356.0 €

Answering the deepest questions in particle physics, from the laws governing the Higgs boson to the true nature of dark matter, relies crucially on particle transport simulation. Simulation is the best way to create the required pattern recognition algorithms to make sense of our data and to design precision experiments.  But the field is at an impasse: Physics insight scales with simulation, but after allocating billions of hours to this task, we are reaching a resource limit. Missing discoveries due to suboptimal algorithms or detector designs is a real danger for two reasons: Simulators are not only excruciatingly slow but also "probabilistic black boxes" that fail to extract the best information when it comes to algorithm training.  With LEGO, I will lead an interdisciplinary team of researchers in Munich to re-imagine particle transport. Just as AI language models can create any text with "next-word prediction," I will establish a new simulation model around "next-particle prediction." By predicting instantly what otherwise would take thousands of steps, LEGO will be the first ultra-fast simulation that retains the general-purpose nature of traditional simulators. LEGO will also be the first "smart simulator" in particle physics that provides access to probability and gradient data of the internal evolution of particle showers. This data enables us to extract more information without more simulation and is the key to reaching ultimate physics performance.  Smarter and faster simulations combine for an orders-of-magnitude more effective modeling of particle detectors. I will demonstrate the impact of such an advance for key applications for future colliders. In light of the European Strategy Update and AI advances, I exploit a crucial time window to create the best foundation for algorithm and detector design. As particle transport is crucial for fields far beyond particle physics, such as medicine, LEGO will open the door to a broad set of new applications.

Mots-clés : particle physics,particle transport,simulation based inference,machine learning,foundation models,artificial intelligence,calorimeter simulation,future colliders
Projet ERC : VOLARIS (Horizon Europe, appel 2024, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Universe Sciences
Entité participante : Université technique de Munich — Pays : Allemagne — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1499856.0 €

Over the recent decades, several remote observations have provided evidence for water on the Moon. Due to the lack of in-situ measurements, the nature of lunar water is not yet sufficiently understood. Open fundamental questions include the origin and form, spatial distribution, temporal variation, transport processes, and surface interactions. In VOLARIS, I will employ a novel modelling and experimental approach to address these questions and characterise their main influencing factors. I will specifically study the combined physical, chemical, and thermal processes across the exosphere, surface, and subsurface that govern the dynamic behaviour of volatile water. These investigations will be similarly relevant to other species such as hydrogen, hydroxyl, and noble gases and will significantly advance our understanding of the volatile dynamics of many atmosphere-less celestial bodies. Current models are not capable of simulating the complete volatile cycle with the respective source, sink, loss, conversion, and transport processes, mainly due to the computational complexity and the different physical scales. I will develop a unified model framework to enable more comprehensive simulations across different model domains and scales to systematically investigate the sensitivities to key parameters. With a novel experimental setup, I will reproduce coupled processes of the lunar water cycle in an analogue environment to investigate volatile transport and interactions emerging from a combination of multiple factors. These include complex formation and release processes and temperature-driven migration and redeposition of volatiles. VOLARIS will enable ground-breaking research on the volatile dynamics of atmosphere-less celestial bodies and is highly relevant to fundamental solar system science, future missions and instrument developments, the preservation of volatiles in their natural environment, as well as the potential utilisation of volatile resources.

Mots-clés : volatiles,water,exosphere,regolith,heat and mass transfer,celestial bodies
Projet ERC : NANeurO (Horizon Europe, appel 2023, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Systems and Communication Engineering
Entité participante : Université technique de Munich — Pays : Allemagne — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1499725.0 €

Neural devices used in the brain and spinal cord have yielded medical breakthroughs to improve the lives of people with spinal cord injury, Parkinson’s disease, and hearing loss. However, current neural devices are large, complex, and invasive, and are therefore used by only a fraction of people who could benefit from them. Instead, I want to make neural devices that are nanoscale, injectable, and wireless. By lowering invasiveness and implantation risk, this technology could address the unmet medical needs of more people with neurological impairments. The work proposed herein is to develop a minimally invasive nanoelectrode system capable of wireless, spatially selective, and multiplexed neural stimulation. I have previously developed nanoelectrodes that directly stimulated (i.e. with no genetic/biochemical neuron modification) the deep brain of mice as a proof-of-concept. This was possible because, unlike other wireless neural technologies, device powering was nonresonant, and thus independent of size. In my proposed research I will now develop optimized nanoelectrodes, and I will approach this by developing a toolbox of nanomaterials to study and learn from. In particular, I will look at how nanoelectrode size and shape affects signal/response and neurostimulation. This approach will generate new, enabling technologies, such as the ability to individually stimulate some particles while ignoring others, for multiplexed stimulation control. While the field of nanoscale and wireless neuroelectrodes is exceptionally small, new, and high risk, the proposed work could one day enable minimally invasive, wireless neural modulation.

Mots-clés : neuroengineering,nanomaterials,wireless electrodes