Hi 🤠
I am a researcher at the Foundations of Machine Learning Systems group (Tübingen AI Center, University of Tübingen), interested in ML theory & human-AI interaction.
Since the end of 2021 until Summer 2026, I have been a PhD student in the same group, supported by the International Max Planck Research School for Intelligent Systems (IMPRS-IS). Previously, I was a research intern at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems with Dr. Caterina De Bacco. I hold a MSc in Data Science from the University of Padova and a BSc in Mathematics from “La Sapienza” University of Rome.
Research
I am currently interested in studying human-AI interaction (e.g., social media, recommender systems, chatbots), with a focus on characterizing this relationship both from an ethical and mathematical point of view, as well as understanding its role in affecting human autonomy, privacy and agency. I do so having in mind the EU AI Act as a framework. I recently wrote a short essay with some of my work-in-progress ideas on the topic.
During my PhD, I have studied how different machine learning problems are interconnected and characterized. Reasoning about supervised learning and data corruption led to a project about Markovian corruption and its associated mitigations. Relating these results to information theory, led to a generalization of the data processing inequality to constrained model classes with interesting implications for representation learning.
Overall, I aim to find connections across fields, to allow better communication and formal understanding, as well as formally studying observed phenomena, e.g. those arising in social sciences. My first steps in academia moved in this direction by using network science, i.e., with influence-spreading models, collective action on Twitter, and community/ranking structures.
More about me
I come from a pre-roman town in Ciociaria, south to Rome (Italy). I strongly believe that science is a social endeavor, and that we should put effort in being positive social actors. I try to promote mental health and support systems in my community through TAPPA; I am also a Mental Health First Aider and a Confidant. I like to support and volunteer for science communication projects like Pint of Science.
Get in touch
Feel free to contact me at
laura [dot] iacovissi [at] uni-tuebingen [dot] de
or check out my profiles
Google Scholar (for publications and theses)
Github (for code)
LinkedIn (not for much, but who knows if I'll suddenly become more present online?)