In the week between May 25th and May 29th of 2026, I attended the Bertinoro International Spring School (BISS 2026). It is a yearly event that gathers PhD students in Computer Science from the whole European Union and involves three courses of 12 hours each. I have been given the opportunity to give a course on Social AI:
“The goal of this course is to introduce Artificial Social Intelligence, commonly referred to as Social AI, a field focused on the automatic modelling, analysis, and synthesis of verbal and non-verbal behaviour in both human–human and human–machine interactions. After presenting the field and its key scientific and technological objectives, the course will cover the main methodological steps underlying Social AI, from the collection of behavioural data to the design of appropriate AI approaches and the psychologically informed evaluation of results. Special attention will be given to the interdisciplinary nature of Social AI. The course will demonstrate how social and psychological questions can be formulated in technological terms and, conversely, how addressing technological challenges related to human behaviour can generate valuable psychological insights.”
The event takes place in the beautiful Residential Centre of the University of Bologna in Bertinoro, a little village listed among the most beautiful villages in Italy.
Alessandro Vinciarelli 
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