Second DDLS and WASP-HS Joint Call for Seed Money: Three Projects Approved

During February 2023, the SciLifeLab & Wallenberg National Program for Data-Driven Life Science (DDLS) and the Wallenberg AI, Autonomous Systems and Software Program – Humanities and Society (WASP-HS), announced a joint call for seed money. The aim of the call was to bridge the gap between researchers from the two programs by facilitating interdisciplinary collaborations, as stated in the DDLS donation letter. Now, three joint projects have been approved by the SciLifeLab board.

The approved projects aim to increase the understanding of how using artificial intelligence (AI), autonomous systems, and data-driven methodologies in life science, has effects and consequences in medicine, life sciences and/or society.  The objective is to investigate the human and social challenges of data-driven strategies developed within life sciences.

Each of the projects have a clear potential to impact both disciplines and will be led by one researcher from each program. DDLS researchers need to be involved in one of the four data-driven research areas, molecular biology, evolution and biodiversity, prediction medicine and epidemiology or biology of infection, while WASP-HS researchers can be involved in research areas such as, philosophy, sociology, anthropology, political science, law, history, linguistics, languages, the creative arts, theology, etc.

”The applications were ranked by an evaluation committee based on their scientific potential, multidisciplinarity and future impact” says Erik Kristiansson, chair of the evaluation committee and Professor in Applied Mathematics and Statistics at Chalmers.

“The introduction of AI in the life sciences will have far-reaching implications for society as a whole. DDLS, therefore, places great importance in the close collaboration with WASP-HS and the support of collaborative research exploring opportunities and addressing challenges of AI from the perspective of humanities and social sciences”, he continues.

In total, 3 MSEK have been allocated to the call, with 200 KSEK – 500 KSEK for each project.

Approved projects:

AI4CBT – Explainable, Human-Centric, Psychology-Grounded Fine-Grained Assessment and Planning for Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Sverker Sikström (LU/DDLS) and Loïs Vanhée (UmU/WASP-HS)

Trustworthy AI-Based Medical Treatment
Andreas Kotsios (UU/WASP-HS) and Robin Strand (UU/DDLS)

Mapping the Nexus of Biodiversity, Climate Change, Human Society and Health using Large Language Models
Sonja Aits (LU/DDLS), Emily Grace Kristina Boyd (LU/WASP-HS)