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SUMMARY:Integrative Social-Ecological Knowledge Systems: Conceptual and Co
 mputational Foundations for Ecological Synthesis
DTSTART:20260928T120000Z
DTEND:20261001T133000Z
DTSTAMP:20260810T134900Z
UID:indico-event-329@indico.rz.uni-jena.de
CONTACT:birgitta.koenig-ries@uni-jena.de
DESCRIPTION:Speakers: Tim Alamenciak (Carleton University & University of 
 Waterloo)\, Robert Frühstückl\, Tina Heger (TUM)\, Birgitta König-Ries 
 (Heinz Nixdorf Chair for Distributed Information Systems)\n\nEcological re
 search increasingly relies on the integration of heterogeneous knowledge s
 ources\, including field observations\, experimental results\, theoretical
  models\, and socio-economic data. However\, relevant knowledge remains hi
 ghly fragmented across disciplines\, conceptual frameworks\, and data infr
 astructures\, which limits the capacity for ecological synthesis. Recent a
 dvances in large language models\, semantic knowledge graphs\, and agent-b
 ased AI systems make it technically feasible to formalize and computationa
 lly integrate ecological and social-ecological knowledge. Yet the conceptu
 al\, methodological\, and epistemological foundations required for such in
 tegration remain largely unresolved. Without addressing these issues\, AI-
 based synthesis risks producing scientifically unreliable or non-interpret
 able results. Initial progress on these issues has emerged from recent int
 erdisciplinary collaborations\, including a  research group at the Center
  for Interdisciplinary Research (ZiF) in Bielefeld \, which brought togeth
 er scholars from ecology\, computer science\, and philosophy of science\, 
 among them the organizers of this workshop. This work has identified key o
 pen questions:\n·       What methodological limits and validation r
 equirements arise when using AI-based approaches for ecological synthesis?
 \n·       Which conceptual and semantic frameworks are suitable for
  representing ecological and social-ecological knowledge in  computationa
 l systems?\n·       How can ecological and social science knowledge
  be integrated in interoperable data and knowledge models?\n·      
  What epistemic standards are required to ensure transparency\, interpreta
 bility\, and scientific reliability in interdisciplinary knowledge integra
 tion?\nAddressing these questions requires sustained dialogue between fiel
 ds that rarely interact directly\, including ecology\, artificial intellig
 ence\, philosophy of science\, and the social sciences. Existing disciplin
 ary conferences rarely provide formats that allow such focused conceptual 
 exchange. The workshop will therefore bring together an international grou
 p of researchers and structure an emerging research field on integrative s
 ocial-ecological knowledge systems.\nThe primary scientific objectives are
 :\n·       clarifying conceptual and epistemological foundations fo
 r social-ecological knowledge integration\;\n·       evaluating eme
 rging computational approaches\, including LLM-based and agentic AI system
 s\;\n·       identifying methodological and epistemological challen
 ges in interdisciplinary ecological research\;\n·       developing 
 priorities for future international research in integrative social-ecologi
 cal knowledge systems.\n \nWe plan to publish the abstracts as well as do
 cumentation about the event in zenodo.\n \nAbstract submission deadline w
 as on  July 28\, 2026.\n \nRegistration is now possible.\n \nThe regist
 ration fee will be €125 per in person participant and $ 50 for remote pa
 rticipation. It will be waived for student participants. \n \nWe will be
  able to offer limited travel support for active participants (speakers an
 d presenters of posters). Details on how to apply are  provided on the re
 gistration page. If you plan to apply for travel support\, please do so by
  August 09 at the latest.\n \n       supported by:\n \n\n \n \n \
 n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n\n\n \n\n\n\nhttps://indico.rz.uni-j
 ena.de/event/329/
LOCATION:E010 (CIP)
URL:https://indico.rz.uni-jena.de/event/329/
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