NICO
@nicoatnu.bsky.social
The Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems (NICO) incubates innovative collaborations that leverage complexity, networks, and data science.
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NICO
@nicoatnu.bsky.social
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Announcing our winter seminar speakers! Starting February 4th, with talks by leading researchers from Yale, U of Chicago, Lurie Children's Hospital, and Northwestern.
Join us each Wednesday at 12pm US Central: bit.ly/WedatNICO
#WedatNICO #ComplexSystems #DataScience #AI
Join us each Wednesday at 12pm US Central: bit.ly/WedatNICO
#WedatNICO #ComplexSystems #DataScience #AI
Do human differences persist and scale when decisions are delegated to #AI agents? This Wednesday, NICO is excited to welcome @aleximas.bsky.social to discuss how the agentic economy can inherit, transform, and may even amplify, human heterogeneity.
🗓️ Wed 2/18 at 12pm US Central
🔗 bit.ly/WedatNICO
🗓️ Wed 2/18 at 12pm US Central
🔗 bit.ly/WedatNICO
February 17, 2026 at 7:21 PM
Do human differences persist and scale when decisions are delegated to #AI agents? This Wednesday, NICO is excited to welcome @aleximas.bsky.social to discuss how the agentic economy can inherit, transform, and may even amplify, human heterogeneity.
🗓️ Wed 2/18 at 12pm US Central
🔗 bit.ly/WedatNICO
🗓️ Wed 2/18 at 12pm US Central
🔗 bit.ly/WedatNICO
Reposted by NICO
🚨 New in @natmachintell.nature.com 🚨 We collected 9000+ annotations of empathic communication in convos from experts, crowds & LLMs across 4 NLP/comms/psych frameworks
LLM judgment exceeds crowds' reliability & nearly matches experts
Soft skills can now be reliably measured by LLMs 🧵
LLM judgment exceeds crowds' reliability & nearly matches experts
Soft skills can now be reliably measured by LLMs 🧵
February 11, 2026 at 3:11 PM
🚨 New in @natmachintell.nature.com 🚨 We collected 9000+ annotations of empathic communication in convos from experts, crowds & LLMs across 4 NLP/comms/psych frameworks
LLM judgment exceeds crowds' reliability & nearly matches experts
Soft skills can now be reliably measured by LLMs 🧵
LLM judgment exceeds crowds' reliability & nearly matches experts
Soft skills can now be reliably measured by LLMs 🧵
"Science in the Age of AI". This Wednesday, NICO is thrilled to host @chenhaotan.bsky.social from U of Chicago to share recent advances in #AI enabled hypothesis generation and research evaluation.
🗓️ Wed 2/11 at 12pm US Central
🔗 bit.ly/WedatNICO
🗓️ Wed 2/11 at 12pm US Central
🔗 bit.ly/WedatNICO
February 10, 2026 at 11:17 PM
"Science in the Age of AI". This Wednesday, NICO is thrilled to host @chenhaotan.bsky.social from U of Chicago to share recent advances in #AI enabled hypothesis generation and research evaluation.
🗓️ Wed 2/11 at 12pm US Central
🔗 bit.ly/WedatNICO
🗓️ Wed 2/11 at 12pm US Central
🔗 bit.ly/WedatNICO
Reposted by NICO
I wrote about what it means to keep writing when more language feels like the last thing we need--as a computer scientist, but also as a writer.
Softly, effectively, in the age of AI
On dolphins and disobedience
open.substack.com
February 5, 2026 at 12:39 AM
I wrote about what it means to keep writing when more language feels like the last thing we need--as a computer scientist, but also as a writer.
Announcing our winter seminar speakers! Starting February 4th, with talks by leading researchers from Yale, U of Chicago, Lurie Children's Hospital, and Northwestern.
Join us each Wednesday at 12pm US Central: bit.ly/WedatNICO
#WedatNICO #ComplexSystems #DataScience #AI
Join us each Wednesday at 12pm US Central: bit.ly/WedatNICO
#WedatNICO #ComplexSystems #DataScience #AI
February 3, 2026 at 10:12 PM
Announcing our winter seminar speakers! Starting February 4th, with talks by leading researchers from Yale, U of Chicago, Lurie Children's Hospital, and Northwestern.
Join us each Wednesday at 12pm US Central: bit.ly/WedatNICO
#WedatNICO #ComplexSystems #DataScience #AI
Join us each Wednesday at 12pm US Central: bit.ly/WedatNICO
#WedatNICO #ComplexSystems #DataScience #AI
TONIGHT: We are kicking off the winter with our monthly #DataScience Nights, featuring a talk by Moh Hosseinioun on how #AI is reshaping the practice of science. Students and researchers of all levels are welcome!
📅 1/29 at 5:30pm, Tech M416, Evanston
📷 bit.ly/nico-dsn
📅 1/29 at 5:30pm, Tech M416, Evanston
📷 bit.ly/nico-dsn
January 29, 2026 at 8:25 PM
TONIGHT: We are kicking off the winter with our monthly #DataScience Nights, featuring a talk by Moh Hosseinioun on how #AI is reshaping the practice of science. Students and researchers of all levels are welcome!
📅 1/29 at 5:30pm, Tech M416, Evanston
📷 bit.ly/nico-dsn
📅 1/29 at 5:30pm, Tech M416, Evanston
📷 bit.ly/nico-dsn
Reposted by NICO
Postdoc openings at Kellogg/Northwestern!
Review begins Feb 15 (rolling until filled).
Apply / details: www.kellogg.northwestern.edu/academics-re...
Review begins Feb 15 (rolling until filled).
Apply / details: www.kellogg.northwestern.edu/academics-re...
Join the CSSI Team
www.kellogg.northwestern.edu
January 23, 2026 at 5:07 PM
Postdoc openings at Kellogg/Northwestern!
Review begins Feb 15 (rolling until filled).
Apply / details: www.kellogg.northwestern.edu/academics-re...
Review begins Feb 15 (rolling until filled).
Apply / details: www.kellogg.northwestern.edu/academics-re...
Reposted by NICO
Happy 2026!!! In the spirit of reflecting on the past year as we begin a new one, I am sharing what our lab has been up to. Read on to learn about the q's we’re asking, find links to papers and media appearances, and see a pic of the lab at a Cubs game!
January 1, 2026 at 5:36 PM
Happy 2026!!! In the spirit of reflecting on the past year as we begin a new one, I am sharing what our lab has been up to. Read on to learn about the q's we’re asking, find links to papers and media appearances, and see a pic of the lab at a Cubs game!
A new publication in Nature Human Behavior from Brian Uzzi, Dawei Wang and colleagues, explores a large-scale comparison of divergent creativity in humans and large language models. #AI www.nature.com/articles/s41...
December 23, 2025 at 6:06 PM
A new publication in Nature Human Behavior from Brian Uzzi, Dawei Wang and colleagues, explores a large-scale comparison of divergent creativity in humans and large language models. #AI www.nature.com/articles/s41...
"Symbiogenesis, Computational Parallelism, and Complexity in Evolution". This Wed, NICO is honored to host @blaiseaguera.bsky.social from Google for our final talk of the fall quarter! Join us in Chambers Hall or online via Zoom. #AI #ComplexSystems
🗓️ Wed 11/12 at 12pm US Central
🔗 bit.ly/WedatNICO
🗓️ Wed 11/12 at 12pm US Central
🔗 bit.ly/WedatNICO
November 11, 2025 at 10:42 PM
"Symbiogenesis, Computational Parallelism, and Complexity in Evolution". This Wed, NICO is honored to host @blaiseaguera.bsky.social from Google for our final talk of the fall quarter! Join us in Chambers Hall or online via Zoom. #AI #ComplexSystems
🗓️ Wed 11/12 at 12pm US Central
🔗 bit.ly/WedatNICO
🗓️ Wed 11/12 at 12pm US Central
🔗 bit.ly/WedatNICO
Scientific revolutions have revealed a world of uncertainty, emergence, and interconnection. This Wed, NICO is honored to host Julio M. Ottino to discuss: "The Complexity Revolution: How Scientific Breakthroughs Reshaped Reality and Our Place Within It".
🗓️ Wed 11/05 at 12pm CST
🔗 bit.ly/WedatNICO
🗓️ Wed 11/05 at 12pm CST
🔗 bit.ly/WedatNICO
November 4, 2025 at 8:56 PM
Scientific revolutions have revealed a world of uncertainty, emergence, and interconnection. This Wed, NICO is honored to host Julio M. Ottino to discuss: "The Complexity Revolution: How Scientific Breakthroughs Reshaped Reality and Our Place Within It".
🗓️ Wed 11/05 at 12pm CST
🔗 bit.ly/WedatNICO
🗓️ Wed 11/05 at 12pm CST
🔗 bit.ly/WedatNICO
Reposted by NICO
AI is booming. And so are the questions about it.
Don’t miss this #KelloggInisght roundup of research from some of our faculty experts on the past, present and future of artificial intelligence.
Read more: kell.gg/0aa4d8
Don’t miss this #KelloggInisght roundup of research from some of our faculty experts on the past, present and future of artificial intelligence.
Read more: kell.gg/0aa4d8
October 30, 2025 at 2:55 PM
AI is booming. And so are the questions about it.
Don’t miss this #KelloggInisght roundup of research from some of our faculty experts on the past, present and future of artificial intelligence.
Read more: kell.gg/0aa4d8
Don’t miss this #KelloggInisght roundup of research from some of our faculty experts on the past, present and future of artificial intelligence.
Read more: kell.gg/0aa4d8
Reposted by NICO
A very reasonable take on AI in education
Wrote a short piece arguing that higher ed must help steer AI. TLDR: If we outsource this to tech, we outsource our whole business. But rejectionism is basically stalling. If we want to survive, schools themselves must proactively shape AI for education & research. [1/6, unpaywalled at 5/6] +
Opinion | AI Is the Future. Higher Ed Should Shape It.
If we want to stay at the forefront of knowledge production, we must fit technology to our needs.
www.chronicle.com
November 4, 2025 at 8:02 PM
A very reasonable take on AI in education
#AI is often framed as a story of replacement, but AI can help make our work more relational, effective, and deeply human. This Wed, NICO is thrilled to host Elizabeth Gerber to discuss "Human–AI Systems That Amplify Human Connection at Work".
🗓️ Wed 10/29 at 12pm US Central
🔗 bit.ly/WedatNICO
🗓️ Wed 10/29 at 12pm US Central
🔗 bit.ly/WedatNICO
October 28, 2025 at 9:54 PM
#AI is often framed as a story of replacement, but AI can help make our work more relational, effective, and deeply human. This Wed, NICO is thrilled to host Elizabeth Gerber to discuss "Human–AI Systems That Amplify Human Connection at Work".
🗓️ Wed 10/29 at 12pm US Central
🔗 bit.ly/WedatNICO
🗓️ Wed 10/29 at 12pm US Central
🔗 bit.ly/WedatNICO
It’s notoriously difficulty to evaluate interfaces intended to support creative work. This Wednesday, NICO is thrilled to host @maxkreminski.bsky.social from Midjourney to discuss: "Tracing and Shaping Paths in Design Space". #WedatNICO #AI
🗓️ Wed 10/22 at 12pm US Central
🔗 bit.ly/WedatNICO
🗓️ Wed 10/22 at 12pm US Central
🔗 bit.ly/WedatNICO
October 21, 2025 at 8:07 PM
It’s notoriously difficulty to evaluate interfaces intended to support creative work. This Wednesday, NICO is thrilled to host @maxkreminski.bsky.social from Midjourney to discuss: "Tracing and Shaping Paths in Design Space". #WedatNICO #AI
🗓️ Wed 10/22 at 12pm US Central
🔗 bit.ly/WedatNICO
🗓️ Wed 10/22 at 12pm US Central
🔗 bit.ly/WedatNICO
Reposted by NICO
"Artificial intelligence is transforming business, science, marketing, and people's lives".
@mattgroh.bsky.social, @dashunwang.bsky.social, and more Kellogg Faculty tell us how we got here and what could be next at Kellogg Insight. kell.gg/5hqk
@mattgroh.bsky.social, @dashunwang.bsky.social, and more Kellogg Faculty tell us how we got here and what could be next at Kellogg Insight. kell.gg/5hqk
Take 5: AI’s Past, Present, and Future
Artificial intelligence is transforming business, science, marketing, and labor. Kellogg faculty tell us how we got here and what could be next.
kell.gg
October 13, 2025 at 3:04 PM
"Artificial intelligence is transforming business, science, marketing, and people's lives".
@mattgroh.bsky.social, @dashunwang.bsky.social, and more Kellogg Faculty tell us how we got here and what could be next at Kellogg Insight. kell.gg/5hqk
@mattgroh.bsky.social, @dashunwang.bsky.social, and more Kellogg Faculty tell us how we got here and what could be next at Kellogg Insight. kell.gg/5hqk
Unconventional uses of data can stimulate creativity and innovation. This Wednesday, NICO is excited to host @patpark.bsky.social from Carnegie Mellon University to discuss: "Back to ‘Data' Science in the Age of AI". #datascience #ai
🗓️ Wed 10/15 at 12pm US Central
🔗 bit.ly/WedatNICO
🗓️ Wed 10/15 at 12pm US Central
🔗 bit.ly/WedatNICO
October 14, 2025 at 8:47 PM
Unconventional uses of data can stimulate creativity and innovation. This Wednesday, NICO is excited to host @patpark.bsky.social from Carnegie Mellon University to discuss: "Back to ‘Data' Science in the Age of AI". #datascience #ai
🗓️ Wed 10/15 at 12pm US Central
🔗 bit.ly/WedatNICO
🗓️ Wed 10/15 at 12pm US Central
🔗 bit.ly/WedatNICO
Reposted by NICO
Next was an amazing talk by @tomerullman.bsky.social on approximations in mental simulation and intuitive physics at @nicoatnu.bsky.social. Highly recommend www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlva... (4/9)
Wed@NICO - 10/8 - Tomer Ullman
YouTube video by Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems
www.youtube.com
October 9, 2025 at 1:56 AM
Next was an amazing talk by @tomerullman.bsky.social on approximations in mental simulation and intuitive physics at @nicoatnu.bsky.social. Highly recommend www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlva... (4/9)
People handle the everyday physical world with remarkable ease, but how do we do it? This Wednesday, NICO is thrilled to host @tomerullman.bsky.social, to discuss: "Good Enough: Approximations in Mental Simulation and Intuitive Physics".
🗓️ Wed 10/8 at 12pm US Central
🔗 bit.ly/WedatNICO
🗓️ Wed 10/8 at 12pm US Central
🔗 bit.ly/WedatNICO
October 7, 2025 at 8:43 PM
People handle the everyday physical world with remarkable ease, but how do we do it? This Wednesday, NICO is thrilled to host @tomerullman.bsky.social, to discuss: "Good Enough: Approximations in Mental Simulation and Intuitive Physics".
🗓️ Wed 10/8 at 12pm US Central
🔗 bit.ly/WedatNICO
🗓️ Wed 10/8 at 12pm US Central
🔗 bit.ly/WedatNICO
Reposted by NICO
Changing the Way We Talk: How Science Communications Brings Research to the Masses — bit.ly/4mCl7WB
September 29, 2025 at 6:35 PM
Changing the Way We Talk: How Science Communications Brings Research to the Masses — bit.ly/4mCl7WB
TONIGHT: We are kicking off our fall #DataScience Nights schedule with a meet and greet for all interested. Students and researchers of all levels are welcome!
📅 9/25 at 5:30pm, Chambers Hall, Evanston
🔗 bit.ly/nico-dsn
📅 9/25 at 5:30pm, Chambers Hall, Evanston
🔗 bit.ly/nico-dsn
September 25, 2025 at 7:56 PM
TONIGHT: We are kicking off our fall #DataScience Nights schedule with a meet and greet for all interested. Students and researchers of all levels are welcome!
📅 9/25 at 5:30pm, Chambers Hall, Evanston
🔗 bit.ly/nico-dsn
📅 9/25 at 5:30pm, Chambers Hall, Evanston
🔗 bit.ly/nico-dsn
Reposted by NICO
Next was a fascinating talk by Emma Alexander on information optimization in the visual cortex and the role of food on driving constrained processing at @nicoatnu.bsky.social www.youtube.com/live/kXaF0OQ... (6/9)
Wed@NICO - 9/24 - Emma Alexander
YouTube video by Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems
www.youtube.com
September 25, 2025 at 4:36 AM
Next was a fascinating talk by Emma Alexander on information optimization in the visual cortex and the role of food on driving constrained processing at @nicoatnu.bsky.social www.youtube.com/live/kXaF0OQ... (6/9)
Announcing our fall seminar speakers! Starting September 24th, with talks by leading researchers from Northwestern, Harvard, Carnegie Mellon University, Midjourney, and Google.
Join us each Wednesday at 12pm US Central: bit.ly/WedatNICO
#WedatNICO #ComplexSystems #DataScience #AI
Join us each Wednesday at 12pm US Central: bit.ly/WedatNICO
#WedatNICO #ComplexSystems #DataScience #AI
September 23, 2025 at 6:32 PM
Announcing our fall seminar speakers! Starting September 24th, with talks by leading researchers from Northwestern, Harvard, Carnegie Mellon University, Midjourney, and Google.
Join us each Wednesday at 12pm US Central: bit.ly/WedatNICO
#WedatNICO #ComplexSystems #DataScience #AI
Join us each Wednesday at 12pm US Central: bit.ly/WedatNICO
#WedatNICO #ComplexSystems #DataScience #AI
Reposted by NICO
🎧 New episode with fascinating Northwestern biological anthropologist Katie Amato! @tgsatnu.bsky.social
#scientist #science #biologicalanthropology #microbiome #microbes #juicing #interview #northwestern
www.buzzsprout.com/2464891/epis...
#scientist #science #biologicalanthropology #microbiome #microbes #juicing #interview #northwestern
www.buzzsprout.com/2464891/epis...
Katie Amato wonders what it means to be human (she's a biological anthropologist) - Socializing with Scientists
As a child, Katie thrived in her suburban Chicago backyard, reading The Boxcar Children and leading her little brother on adventures. A second grade unit on Jane Goodall cemented her curiosity about p...
www.buzzsprout.com
July 24, 2025 at 12:35 PM
🎧 New episode with fascinating Northwestern biological anthropologist Katie Amato! @tgsatnu.bsky.social
#scientist #science #biologicalanthropology #microbiome #microbes #juicing #interview #northwestern
www.buzzsprout.com/2464891/epis...
#scientist #science #biologicalanthropology #microbiome #microbes #juicing #interview #northwestern
www.buzzsprout.com/2464891/epis...
Reposted by NICO
What links Filippo Brunelleschi and Niels Bohr? In a Perspective, Julio Ottino describes different types of creativity in the sciences and arts, explores possible limits to AI’s creativity, and differentiates a breakthrough from a “break-with.” In PNAS Nexus: academic.oup.com/pnasnexus/ar...
July 9, 2025 at 8:16 PM
What links Filippo Brunelleschi and Niels Bohr? In a Perspective, Julio Ottino describes different types of creativity in the sciences and arts, explores possible limits to AI’s creativity, and differentiates a breakthrough from a “break-with.” In PNAS Nexus: academic.oup.com/pnasnexus/ar...