Ponnurangam Kumaraguru

Eminent Speaker

Short CV: Prof. Ponnurangam Kumaraguru ("PK") is a Professor of Computer Science at IIIT-Hyderabad. He is an Associate Researcher at Robert Bosch Centre for Data Science & AI - IIT Madras, and an Adjunct faculty at IIIT Delhi. PK was inducted an ACM Distinguished Member in 2021. PK is an ACM India Council Member, and Chair of the Research Facilitation Committee of ACM India. PK is a TEDx and an ACM Distinguished & ACM India Eminent Speaker. PK received his Ph.D. from the School of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU). His Ph.D. thesis work on anti-phishing research at CMU contributed in creating an award-winning startup - Wombat Security Technologies, wombatsecurity.com. Wombat was acquired in March 2018 for USD 225 Million. PK was listed in the World's 2% Scientists by Stanford University in Nov 2020. He is a senate member of IIIT Una, LNMIIT, JKLU and is on various Board of Studies / Academic Council of different institutes across the country. He has co-authored research papers in the field of Computational Social Science, Privacy and Security in Online Social Media, Cyber Security, Social Computing, Data Science for Social Good, amongst others. In addition to his contributions to academia, PK was on advisory role on various government organizations, government committees, including a 8 member committee on Non-Personal Data by Government of India, chaired by Mr. Kris Gopalakrishnan. PK and his students have played an integral role in developing a technology used by many State and Central Government agencies in India. PK's research work regularly gets featured on news media, including print, online, and TV within India and across the world; to list a few, BBC, CBC, CBS, CNN, Doordarshan, Economic Times, Indian Express, NBC, New Scientist, NewYorker, Reuters, Times of India, USA Today (on 1st Feb 2021), Washington Post, and many more. PK Spear heads ACM India's programs on improving the quality of PhD students in Computing in India -- PhDClinic & Anveshan Setu Fellowship. In his Dean's role, he managed a team of 15 faculty members and 10+ admin staff, including Associate Dean of Student Affairs, overseeing hostel, sports centre, health centre, student {well-being, clubs, mentorship program}, technical & cultural fests. He was the Founding Head of Cybersecurity Education and Research Centre (CERC) at IIIT-Delhi. PK started and successfully manages PreCog (precog.iiit.ac.in), a research group at IIIT-Hyderabad.

Title of Talk 1: Responsible & Safe AI

Synopsis: In a world increasingly shaped by AI technologies, including influential models like ChatGPT and DALL.E, common applications of AI in natural language understanding, image generation, and more are prominent. There is an increased use of AI models in various applications, from enhancing customer service interactions to enabling creative image generation and autonomous vehicles. One can now use specialized GPTs for a variety of usecases through a AppStore-like AI marketplace, straight out-of-the-box. However, with great power comes great responsibility, and it's imperative to acknowledge the ethical, responsible, and fairness issues that accompany these powerful systems. Zooming out to the bigger picture, the talk will address the criticality of identifying ethical, responsible, and auditing requirements for AI systems. Our discussion will encompass a comprehensive exploration of AI, spanning computational, cultural, and legal dimensions. This would include exploring the potential harms arising from modern AI capabilities in experimental and real-world contexts, ongoing research projects and ideas for enhancing AI system safety, specific projects related to addressing bias in Large Language Models (LLMs) and their effective application in legal contexts, as well as methods to improve interpretability, consistency, and the removal of harmful labels and knowledge from these models. ChatGPT was used to edit / polish this Abstract :)

Title of Talk 2: Data Science for Social Good
Synopsis: With increase in usage of the Internet, social media platforms, huge amount of data is getting generated at various level; one of the dire need of the hour is to see how we can use this data to have societal impact. I will briefly mention some super cool projects that we have worked on and that have made some visible contributions to the world outside academia. All work presented in the talk (including datasets, code, slides, recorded videos) has related publications at http://precog.iiitd.edu.in/ . Projects that I will touch upon are: Selfie deaths/KillFie #GeneralElections2019 (Mis)Information/Fake content on Twitter, Facebook, and WhatsApp, and Computing for Medicine. We all understand, many real world problems cannot be addressed by a single domain faculty / researcher, we need more students and faculty to come together, hoping to generate some interest to join hands to have an impact and make a difference. Many of our research work is made available for public use through tools or online services at precog.iiitd.edu.in including datasets that we have used in our research work. Our work derives techniques from Computational Social Science, Data Science, Statistics, and Network Science. I will be more than happy to clarify, discuss, any of our work in detail, as required, after the talk.

Title of Talk 3: Exploring the Fascination of Research: Who, Why, Where, How, When?

Synopsis:Calling all curious minds interested in research! Are you eager to understand the essence of research and its starting points? This talk is tailored to address fundamental inquiries like: What truly constitutes research? How can you kick-start your journey in this realm? At an undergraduate level, how can you discern your inclination towards a research-focused career? What is experimental, theoretical, and applied research, how they are similar & how they differ? Importance of networking for research career? We'll navigate through vital questions—debunking myths such as the necessity of a Ph.D. for a research career and dispelling stereotypes about the 'nerdy' persona in research. Gain insights into the lifestyles of accomplished researchers and unearth the reasons behind pursuing research. Uncover the various institutes offering avenues to explore research, while discovering the art of approaching professors, labs, and universities for potential research opportunities. Moreover, we'll shed light on both research and non-research career trajectories, including engineering opportunities, providing a comprehensive view of the multitude of paths available. Join us for an interactive session packed with pointers, real-world examples, and anecdotes from past students. Let's decipher the world of research together and address any lingering queries you may have! This is your opportunity to unravel the mysteries of research. ChatGPT was used to edit / polish this Title & Abstract :)

Ponnurangam Kumaraguru ("PK")

Qualifications: Ph.D. from School of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University

Title: Professor of Computer Science, IIIT-Hyderabad

Affiliation: Indraprastha Institute of Information Technology (IIIT), Hyderabad

Contact Details: [email protected]
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