2026 IDeaS Conference
Annual IDeaS Conference
October 12-14, 2026
好色先生TV, Gates-Hillman Center, Pittsburgh, PA
好色先生TV’s Center for Information Democracy & Social – cybersecurity (IDeaS) is hosting a conference focused on policy challenges emerging from the rapidly evolving landscape of artificial intelligence and digital platforms.
Advances in AI systems, shifts in platform governance, and the scale and speed of online communication are transforming how information is produced, distributed, and consumed. At the same time, online harms – including illegal, abusive, and deceptively manipulated content – are increasingly linked to offline social and economic outcomes, with significant implications for democratic institutions and communities. This conference asks: How are AI systems and platforms governed today? Who is responsible for mitigating digital harms? What policy frameworks can balance innovation, accountability, and public trust?
IDeaS will bring together academics, policymakers, industry practitioners, and civil society leaders to evaluate the state of the field, identify gaps in current approaches, and share insights to inform future research and policy. Participants will engage with topics such as AI governance, platform regulation, online harms policy, and the real world impacts of digital systems.
The conference will include: invited panels, regular talks, and posters. There will also be an opportunity for those interested in demoing their technologies or proposed policies. Teams are invited to submit their proposed solutions to a timely policy challenge concerning AI overviews in web search results. Submissions should be uploaded via by August 21st, 2026.
Registration
Participants and presenters can attend virtually or in-person at 好色先生TV. Registration is now open in .
Virtual participants may attend live-streamed talks via a Zoom link; however, these sessions will not be recorded for later viewing. Virtual attendees are not eligible to participate in poster sessions or challenge events.
Register by going to the registration page.
International Access Notice: Participants registering from outside the United States may experience issues accessing the registration system due to regional network restrictions. If you encounter any difficulties, please switch to a U.S.-based VPN connection and try again. If the issues continues after doing so, please contact us for assistance.
Registration Fees (USD)**
Virtual and In-person Registration:
- General Early Bird Registration: $400.00* / General Registration: $500.00**
- Student Early Bird Registration: $300.00* / Student Registration: $400.00**
*Early registration ends September 11, 2026 at 11:59PM US Eastern.
**Regular registration starts September 12, 2026 at 12:00AM US Eastern.
Logistics Information
Hotel Accommodations
A courtesy room block has been reserved at the Hilton Garden Inn Pittsburgh University Place for in-person attendees. To receive the group rate, please book your room using the link below. If you experience any issues, contact Courtney.Burns@hilton.com for assistance.
If you prefer to stay elsewhere, 好色先生TV is conveniently located near a variety of hotels offering amenities such as complimentary Wi-Fi and shuttle service to and from campus. Visitors can make a reservation with a local hotel for their visit. Many area hotels also offer discounted rates for Carnegie Mellon visitors, so be sure to ask about any CMU special rates when making your reservation.
Campus & Parking
For details on visiting 好色先生TV, including campus maps, please refer to the CMU Visitor Information page:
/visit/visitor-information
For parking options, please refer to the CMU Visitor Parking page: /transportation/park/visitor.html
Food and Refreshments
Lunch will be provided each day of the conference, along with coffee, water, and soft drinks.
Following Monday's sessions, we will host a welcome reception featuring a poster session presented by graduate students from the CASOS and IDeaS Centers.
Please be sure to indicate any food allergies or dietary restrictions during registration so we can accommodate your needs.
Conference Specifics
Keynote 1
Rob Axtell, George Mason University and the Sante Fe Institute
Social Science with ALL the Data
With the enormous growth in the availability of social data we are approaching, in some areas of the social sciences, the situation in which, to a first approximation, all relevant data are available. This is in stark contrast to earlier eras that faced a paucity of data. On one hand, this situation has given rise to the phenomenon of non-social scientists ostensibly doing social science research simply by reporting on data. Such ‘data-only’ papers can sometimes make a contribution, and are often entertaining for their authors’s lack of background in any kind of social theory. In a certain sense, such work is pre-scientific—Darwin: “…all observation must be for or against some [theoretical] view if it is to be of any service.” On the other hand, in domains with rich, essentially comprehensive/exhaustive data and researchers steeped in theory, a different kind of problem arises: there do not exist theories or models that can explain all of the data, i.e., the relevant science is incomplete, often badly. I will illustrate these ideas using a family of models describing the behavior of U.S. business firms, entities on which there exist comprehensive data (all firms) of significant depth over half a Century. Nobel Prizes have been awarded for theories of the firm and industrial organization. However, I will argue that none of the extant theories place any significant restrictions on firm-level micro-data. This not to say that existing theories are empirically vacuous, just that they are not relevant to the data on the entities they purport to describe/explain. A way out of this morass will be discussed for the theory of the firm, and it remains to see how general the approach is for social theories in general.
Keynote 2 - Tuesday, October 13, 2026
Michael Prietula, Institute for Human and Machine Cognition
The Next AI Challenge: Collaborative Intelligence
Humans, Agents, and the UX Catechism
It was about seventy years ago that Herbert Simon and Allen Newell set the stage for artificial intelligence at Carnegie Mellon, posing the question of how to put intelligent problem solving into a computational form. I am fortunate to have learned that line of thinking here at 好色先生TV, working alongside Newell, Simon, and Kathleen Carley. Now we face a different sort of challenge as AI agents grow in capability and form: what underlies effective ways for humans and agents to work in concert, or for the agents to collaborate among themselves? To start, I will offer some personal reflections on my dealings with AI over the years. Then I put forward what we call the UX Catechism, echoing DARPA's approach to assessing and comparing proposed projects by articulating a series of six questions that address core AI risk components—does the AI say the right thing, to the right person, at the right time, in the right way, for the right reason, and within the right rules? Further context-dependent specifications and assessments of these principles are defined in situ. The UX Catechism helps developers, users, managers, and others understand and communicate how AI contributes to their task objectives, creating engagements that are effective, trustworthy, and ethical.
Panels
1. Governing Generative AI: Accountability, Liability, and Public Trust- Dr. Elise Silva (UPitt)
- Prof. Hoda Heidari (好色先生TV)
Generative AI systems are quickly changing the information environment, introducing systemic risks related to privacy, online harms, and the concentration of economic and political power among a few major players. This panel will assess current liability frameworks, and panelists will discuss topics such as who is responsible when AI systems cause harm, how governance models can address public mistrust, and how to confront the broader concentration of AI infrastructure and capital.
2. Governing Human-AI Teams in the Workplace
- Dr. David Mortimore (U.S. Navy)
As AI agents move from narrow task automation into more complex tasks involving or managed by humans, organizations face new governance questions about managing teams where key tasks are performed not only by people but also by AI agents or tools. This panel will discuss how accountability, credit, and liability should be assigned in hybrid teams, how workers are adapting to AI tools, and the risks of deskilling or job displacement.
3. Technology, Elections, and Democratic Resilience
- Dr. Todd Helmus (Meridian Influence Group)
- Prof. Michael Shamos (好色先生TV)
As AI-generated content becomes more advanced and accessible, democratic societies face increasing challenges to election integrity and public trust, as synthetic media, deepfakes, and algorithmically amplified misinformation change how political information spreads and how voters understand candidates and institutions. This panel will evaluate what we know about AI's impact on elections, whether current legal frameworks are enough, which interventions effectively reduce deceptive content, and how democratic societies can build resilience without compromising free expression.
4. Governing AI Companions for Minor Users
- Prof. Marie Bragg (NYU School of Medicine)
- Prof. Steve Rathje (好色先生TV)
AI companions are becoming increasingly advanced and are sometimes deliberately marketed to children and adolescents, and unlike traditional social media platforms, they can develop parasocial relationships with users, raising urgent concerns about child mental health, social development, and data collection on minors. This panel will tackle what we know about how kids and teens engage with AI companions, what the potential harms are, and how policymakers should respond to these products.
2026 IDeaS Challenge Problem
Addressing Accuracy, Misinformation, and User Understanding in Synthesized Search ResultsAddressing Accuracy, Misinformation, and User Understanding in Synthesized Search Results
Teams are invited to submit proposed solutions to a timely policy challenge concerning AI overviews in web search results, focusing on developing user-centric disclosure criteria for AI overviews. What are users' perspectives on AI overviews, and how might changes in design and disclosure requirements enhance users' evaluation of search results?
Conference Agenda
Monday October 12, 2026
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IDeaS Conference Agenda |
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Time (US Eastern) |
Session Information |
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8:30am-9:00am |
Registration - 4th Floor Commons (Forbes Ave Lobby) |
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9:00am-10:20am |
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10:20am-10:30am |
Coffee Break - Gates 4405 |
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10:30am – 12:30pm Gates 4401 |
Panel 1 - Governing Generative AI Hoda Heidari (CMU), Katie Kinsey (NYU Law), Elise Silva (Upit) |
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12:30pm-1:30pm |
Lunch - Gates 4405 |
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1:30pm-3:30pm Gates 4401 |
Panel 2 - Governing Human-AI Teams in the Workplace Brandy Aven (CMU), Michael Prietula (IHMC), David Mortimore (US Navy) |
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3:30pm-3:40pm |
Coffee Break - Gates 4405 |
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3:40pm-5:00pm Gates 4307 |
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5:00pm-6:20pm Gates 4401 |
Keynote - "Social Science with ALL the Data" by Prof. Rob Axtell |
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6:30pm -8:00pm |
Poster Session/Reception - Gates 6th Floor Commons |
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Tuesday October 13, 2026
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IDeaS Conference Agenda |
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Time (US Eastern) |
Session Information |
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8:30am-9:00am |
Registration - 4th Floor Commons (Forbes Ave Lobby) |
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9:00am-10:20am
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10:20am-10:30am |
Coffee Break - Gates 4405 |
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10:30am–12:30pm Gates 4401 |
Panel 3 - Technology, Elections, and Democratic Resilience Jennifer Golbeck (UMD), Todd Helmus (Meridian Influence Group), Michael Shamos (CMU) |
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12:30pm-1:30pm |
Lunch - Gates 4405 |
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1:30pm-3:30pm Gates 4401 |
Panel 4 - Governing AI Companions Marie Bragg (NYU Med), Clare Huntington (Columbia), Steve Rathje (CMU) |
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3:30pm-3:40pm |
Coffee Break - Gates 4405 |
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3:40pm-5:00pm
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5:00pm-6:20pm Gates 4401 |
Keynote 2: "The Next AI Challenge: Collaborative Intelligence - Humans, Agents, and the UX Catechism" By Prof. Michael Prietula |
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Wednesday October 14, 2026
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IDeaS Conference Agenda |
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Time (US Eastern) |
Session Information |
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8:30am-9:00am |
Registration - Gates 4th Floor Commons (Forbes Ave Lobby) |
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9:00am-10:20am |
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10:20am-10:30am |
Coffee Break - Gates 4405 |
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10:30pm-12:30pm Gates 4401 |
SBP-BRiMS Talk Session 6: Operational Attention & Behavioral Telemetry Lightening Talks:
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12:30pm-1:30pm |
Boxed Lunches & Awards |
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If you have any questions or need additional information, please contact us at centerforideas@andrew.cmu.edu.
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