{"id":15976,"date":"2025-10-27T15:06:14","date_gmt":"2025-10-27T14:06:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fondazionecrt.it\/premio-lagrange-fondazionecrt-2025-iyad-rahwan\/"},"modified":"2025-11-06T11:04:39","modified_gmt":"2025-11-06T10:04:39","slug":"lagrange-fondazionecrt-2025-iyad-rahwan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fondazionecrt.it\/en\/lagrange-fondazionecrt-2025-iyad-rahwan\/","title":{"rendered":"The 2025 Lagrange\u2013Fondazione CRT Prize awarded to scientist Iyad Rahwan for his studies on human\u2013machine social interaction"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Artificial intelligences are not just collections of data and algorithms\u2014they are complex systems that shape contemporary societies and feed on the very data we produce.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\"\"\u201cIf I had to explain to a child what image to associate with Artificial Intelligence, I would draw a metallic mechanical robot\u2014designed and built like a car that responds to precise commands and, thanks to its vast potential, is able to shape society while also being influenced by it.\u201d<\/div>\n

With this statement, Syrian-born scientist Iyad Rahwan<\/strong>, a leading scholar of human\u2013machine interaction in contemporary society whose academic path spans Australia, the United Arab Emirates, the United States, and Germany, highlights how intelligent machines play not only a technological role but also one of social interaction and relationship. They reflect the biases, norms, and moral choices of human communities.<\/p>\n

Rahwan\u2019s research\u2014approaching AI not merely as a set of algorithms and data, but as a complex system<\/strong> producing social effects and influencing interactions between humans and machines\u2014has earned him the 2025 Lagrange\u2013Fondazione CRT Prize<\/strong>, the world\u2019s highest distinction in the field of Complex Systems and Data Science. The award is established and funded by Fondazione CRT<\/strong> and coordinated by the ISI Foundation \u2013 Institute for Scientific Interchange<\/strong>, based in Turin.<\/p>\n

Iyad Rahwan\u2019s vision of Artificial Intelligence<\/h3>\n

At the Max Planck Institute for Human Development<\/strong> in Berlin, Prof. Rahwan and his team study how artificial intelligence influences every aspect of human life\u2014while the human ecosystem, shaped by languages, values, history, and prejudices, provides the very \u201cnourishment\u201d with which AI is trained.<\/p>\n

This creates what Rahwan calls co-evolution<\/strong>, where machines learn from the information generated by people and adapt to collective human behavior\u2014often imperfectly.<\/p>\n

How can we observe a machine in its natural habitat? According to Rahwan, it is necessary to systematically study the outputs and behaviors of systems already in operation. Yet, because modern technologies are highly complex and unpredictable, this is not always enough: algorithms designed for one purpose may produce unintended side effects once deployed at scale. Therefore, he argues for a new interdisciplinary scientific framework<\/strong>\u2014one that draws on biology, economics, and the social sciences\u2014to understand the phenomena that emerge when millions of humans and artificial intelligences interact.<\/p>\n

So, is AI truly a new form of intelligence, or merely a mirror of human intelligence? Rahwan\u2019s research concludes that both are true<\/strong>: AI acts as a distorting mirror<\/em> reflecting humanity, society, knowledge, and human error, while simultaneously representing a new kind of intelligence\u2014one that does not reproduce human thought but explores entirely alien territories that require deep study.<\/p>\n

Ethical questions are central to this vision. Data collected in Rahwan\u2019s studies\u2014such as the Moral Machine Experiment<\/strong> and Machine Behaviour<\/strong>\u2014demonstrate that no universal ethics for AI can exist. The goal should not be to design a single moral code to program into machines, but rather to create processes that allow different communities and cultures to deliberate and decide which values their machines should reflect<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The social dilemmas of AI, therefore, are not abstract or intellectual enigmas\u2014they are deeply human ones. For this reason, Rahwan has also turned to art<\/strong> as a way to express the social impact of complex algorithms through visceral experience. In his media art projects\u2014exhibited at major cultural institutions\u2014he uses painting to document how intelligent machines shape human perception of the world.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cThe Lagrange\u2013Fondazione CRT Prize, promoted with ISI Foundation\u2014our long-standing partner in innovation and research\u2014is a tangible example of how collaboration between institutions can generate knowledge, innovation, and social impact,\u201d said Anna Maria Poggi<\/strong>, President of Fondazione CRT. \u201cData science and artificial intelligence have extraordinary transformative potential for good<\/em>, but this digital revolution must be guided and co-constructed also by philanthropic institutions\u2014free from market or short-term logics\u2014that can look to the future responsibly. Fondazione CRT invests resources and energy to strengthen the innovation ecosystem and promote research that creates value for society. Professor Rahwan\u2019s work, exploring the relationship between artificial intelligence and human behavior, perfectly embodies this approach: a vision of technology as a system that shapes our era, where science, ethics, and social responsibility meet.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

14 years of the Lagrange\u2013Fondazione CRT Prize<\/h3>\n

For 14 years, Fondazione CRT<\/strong> and ISI Foundation<\/strong> have honored researchers and scientists who excel in the study of complexity\u2014economists, physicists, biologists, and epidemiologists of international standing who have advanced multidisciplinary collaboration and applied research addressing the central challenges of equitable and sustainable development.<\/p>\n

The 2025 Lagrange\u2013Fondazione CRT Prize ceremony<\/strong> will take place on Tuesday, October 28, at 6:30 PM<\/strong>, at OGR Torino<\/strong> (Corso Castelfidardo 22), Binario 3.
The event will feature a conversation between Iyad Rahwan and Prof. Teresa Numerico<\/strong> (Roma Tre University), moderated by journalist Andrea Capocci<\/strong>, exploring the themes of the award and the impact of artificial intelligence on society.<\/p>\n

Hall of Fame<\/h3>\n

2024 \u2014 Marta C. Gonz\u00e1lez (Civil and Environmental Engineering, USA)
2023 \u2014 Tina Eliassi-Rad (Computer Science, USA)
2019 \u2014 Iain D. Couzin (Biologist, UK) and David Gruber (Biologist and Explorer, USA)
2018 \u2014 C\u00e9sar Hidalgo (Physicist, Chile\/USA)
2017 \u2014 Danielle S. Bassett (Physicist and Neuroscientist, USA)
2016 \u2014 John Brownstein (Epidemiologist, Canada)
2015 \u2014 Panos Ipeirotis (Computer Scientist, Greece) and Jure Leskovec (Computer Scientist, Slovenia)
2014 \u2014 Mark Newman (Physicist, UK)
2013 \u2014 Duncan J. Watts (Physicist and Sociologist, Australia)
2012 \u2014 Lada Adamic (Social Networks Scholar, USA) and Xavier Gabaix (Economist, France)
2011 \u2014 Albert L\u00e1szl\u00f3 Barab\u00e1si (Physicist, Hungary\/USA)
2010 \u2014 James J. Collins (Bioengineer, USA)
2009 \u2014 Giorgio Parisi (Physicist, Italy)
2008 \u2014 Yakov Grigorievich Sinai (Mathematician, Russia) and William Brian Arthur (Economist, UK)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Artificial intelligences are not just collections of data and algorithms\u2014they are complex systems that shape contemporary societies and feed on the very data we produce.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":15845,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[278],"tags":[333],"class_list":["post-15976","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-projects-and-calls","tag-ricerca-e-istruzione-en"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fondazionecrt.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15976","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fondazionecrt.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fondazionecrt.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fondazionecrt.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fondazionecrt.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15976"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.fondazionecrt.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15976\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15979,"href":"https:\/\/www.fondazionecrt.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15976\/revisions\/15979"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fondazionecrt.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15845"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fondazionecrt.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15976"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fondazionecrt.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15976"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fondazionecrt.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15976"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}