Events
Past Event
WED@NICO SEMINAR: Jarrett Spiro, Humana "How an Organization's Structure and Leaders Influence the Development and Deployment of AI and How AI Impacts Organizational Efficiency and Effectiveness"
Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems (NICO)
12:00 PM
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Lower Level, Chambers Hall
Details
Speaker:
Jarrett Spiro, Cognitive/Machine Learning Lead in Applied AI Research, Humana
Title:
Organizational AI: How an Organization’s Structure and Leaders Influence the Development and Deployment of AI and How AI Impacts Organizational Efficiency and Effectiveness
Abstract:
During my 9 years of working at Humana as a data scientist, I’ve witnessed many ways in which changes in organizational structure and the engagement of leadership has impacted how AI initiatives have been created and used. Each of the changes have produced some benefits, but these new benefits are often overshadowed by new challenges.
These challenges highlight how difficult it is to get a large, non-tech-based organization to adopt AI innovations. I’ve also had plenty of opportunities to build AI solutions aimed to improve the effectiveness of organizational pursuits and the efficiency of organizational actions. My hope is that by sharing my experiences and insights, I will inspire you to develop the solutions that will allow AI to become an essential ingredient for the creation of great organizations in the future.
Speaker Bio:
Jarrett Spiro is a Cognitive/Machine Learning Lead in the Applied AI Research team at Humana. He has worked on numerous AI projects during his 9 years at Humana, including projects designed to improve healthcare outcomes-- such as decreasing the likelihood a patient is readmitted to the hospital or the likelihood a diabetes patient develops new complications--and projects designed to increase organizational efficiency, such as eliminating unnecessary claim rejections. At Humana, he is the resident expert on numerous AI technologies, including generative AI, deep learning, synthetic data, graph theory, and reinforcement learning. Prior to joining Humana, Jarrett received his PhD in organizational behavior from Stanford Business School and was a professor of organizational behavior at INSEAD.
Location:
In person: Chambers Hall, 600 Foster Street, Lower Level
Remote option: https://northwestern.zoom.us/j/97260521198
Passcode: NICO2024
About the Speaker Series:
Wednesdays@NICO is a vibrant weekly seminar series focusing broadly on the topics of complex systems, data science and network science. It brings together attendees ranging from graduate students to senior faculty who span all of the schools across Northwestern, from applied math to sociology to biology and every discipline in-between. Please visit: https://bit.ly/WedatNICO for information on future speakers.
Time
Wednesday, April 10, 2024 at 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
Location
Lower Level, Chambers Hall Map
Contact
Calendar
Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems (NICO)
Data Science Nights - March 2026 - Speaker: Dawei Xie, Department of Computer Science
Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems (NICO)
5:30 PM
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M416, Technological Institute
Details
MARCH MEETING: Thursday, March 19, 2026 at 5:30pm (US Central)
LOCATION:
ESAM Conference Room, Tech M416
2145 Sheridan Road, Evanston, IL 60208
AGENDA:
5:30pm - Meet and greet with refreshments
6:00pm - Talk with Dawei Xie, PhD student, Department of Computer Science, Northwestern University, working with Prof. Marcelo Worsley in the tiilt Lab.
TALK TITLE:
AI-Augmented Learning Analytics for Understanding Collaborative Discussions
ABSTRACT:
Collaborative learning has been recognized as an important skill for the 21st century, yet understanding what constitutes high-quality collaborative discussion remains a challenge. This talk explores how AI systems might move beyond traditional behavioral metrics to support nuanced semantic interpretations of collaborative learning. I present our recent work on an AI-augmented analytics system that transforms real-time group discussions into structured representations, and enables educators to explore collaboration quality through interaction with a conversational agent. I discuss both the technical architecture and the design considerations around how users and AI can jointly shape analytical outputs. Finally, I share findings on how this interplay can afford richer, more grounded sensemaking through analytical dialogue.
DATA SCIENCE NIGHTS are monthly meetings featuring presentations and discussions about data-driven science and complex systems, organized by Northwestern University graduate students and scholars. Students and researchers of all levels are welcome! For more information: http://bit.ly/nico-dsn
FUTURE DATES:
Data Science Nights will be held on Thursday evenings in the winter and spring terms, with future dates on April 30, and May 28, 2026.
Time
Thursday, March 19, 2026 at 5:30 PM - 7:30 PM
Location
M416, Technological Institute Map
Contact
Calendar
Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems (NICO)
WED@NICO SEMINAR: Spring Series returns on April 8th!
Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems (NICO)
12:00 PM
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Lower Level, Chambers Hall
Details
The Wednesdays@NICO Speaker Series returns on April 8th for the spring term, running through May 20th, 2026. Detailed speaker info will be shared in the coming weeks.
Speakers:
4/08/2026 - Yu-Ru Lin - University of Pittsburgh
4/15/2026 - Nihar Shah - Carnegie Mellon University
4/22/2026 - Michelle Birkett - Northwestern University
4/29/2026 - Lightning Talks with NU Scholars - Sign up here!
5/06/2026 - Daniel Stouffer - Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB), Germany (NU Alum '07)
5/13/2026 - Hamsa Bastani - University of Pennsylvania
5/20/2026 - Andreia Sofia Teixeira - Northeastern University London
Location:
In person: Chambers Hall, 600 Foster Street, Lower Level
Remote option: Zoom links will be available
About the Speaker Series:
Wednesdays@NICO is a vibrant weekly seminar series focusing broadly on the topics of complex systems, data science and network science. It brings together attendees ranging from graduate students to senior faculty who span all of the schools across Northwestern, from applied math to sociology to biology and every discipline in-between. Please visit: https://bit.ly/WedatNICO for information on future speakers.
Time
Wednesday, April 8, 2026 at 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
Location
Lower Level, Chambers Hall Map
Contact
Calendar
Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems (NICO)