Keynotes
Subbarao Kambhampati, Ph.D. - Tuesday, March 10
Subbarao Kambhampati is a professor of computer science at Arizona State University. Kambhampati studies fundamental problems in planning and decision making, motivated in particular by the challenges of human-aware AI systems. He is a fellow of the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence, American Association for the Advancement of Science, and Association for Computing Machinery, and a recent recipient of the AAAI Patrick H. Winston Outstanding Educator award. He served as the president of the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence, a trustee of the International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence, the chair of AAAS Section T (Information, Communication and Computation), and a founding board member of Partnership on AI. Kambhampati's research as well as his views on the progress and societal impacts of AI have been featured in multiple national and international media outlets. He can be followed on Twitter @rao2z.
Maia Cook, Ph.D. - Wednesday, March 11
CEO | President, Pacific Science & Engineering Group, Inc. (PSE)
Maia Cook is the CEO and President of Pacific Science & Engineering Group, Inc. (PSE). Dr. Cook holds a Ph.D. in Cognitive Science from the University of California, Irvine. She has over 20 years of experience as an industry human factors scientist-practitioner designing solutions for users of high-consequence, mission-critical military and industrial systems. As a leading expert in applied human-autonomy integration, Dr. Cook's contributions have revolutionized the design, standardization, and scalability of military unmanned vehicle command and control software and user interfaces. In her previous roles at PSE, she established the company's human-autonomy integration area and served as Chief Scientist. Dr. Cook is an active member, publisher, and speaker across the defense industrial, human factors, and industrial engineering communities. She currently serves as a member of Arizona State University's Human Systems Engineering Industry Advisory Board. Through her career, Dr. Cook's defining impacts include improving systems for end users, mentoring students and professionals, and bridging across human factors and technology communities to improve the integration of humans and systems.
Talk Title: Beyond the Operator Console: The Power of the Programmatic Mindset in the AI Revolution
Success in advanced technology development hinges on effective collaboration of cross-disciplinary programmatic stakeholders. While mission-critical technology programs have increasingly prioritized Human Systems Integration, these gains are often unknowingly undermined by an unrealized misalignment−where "common sense" assumptions about human cognition and situation awareness contradict scientific reality.
The ongoing AI revolution is compounding this historical misalignment, through misconceptions that AI inherently improves situation awareness and reduces workload, and urgent needs to rapidly field AI-enhanced capabilities.
These misalignments are not merely academic; they dictate how technology programs are framed, executed, and resourced. Ultimately, they risk delivering technologies incompatible with human capabilities, and they invite operational, safety, and societal hazards.
Through an industry lens, this talk explores risks about−and mitigating strategies for−misaligned assumptions about cognition. It highlights how insight into programmatic mindsets can better align situation awareness research with the demands of real-world programs. By focusing on the stakeholder ecosystem, we can "Expand the Situation Awareness Boundary" beyond the operator's console and into the programmatic environments where technology is governed.
Mica R. Endsley, Ph.D. - Wednesday, March 11 (Banquet)
Dr. Endsley is president of SA Technologies and a former Chief Scientist of the U.S. Air Force. She has published extensively on situation awareness and the effects of AI and automation on human performance. Dr. Endsley has a PhD in Industrial & Systems Engineering from the University of Southern California and is a Fellow and former President of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society.
Talk Title: Supporting Individual and Team SA in the Age of AI
Over the past 40 years, research on SA across many highly complex and dynamic environments has been conducted on both individuals and teams. This research provides a strong foundation for improving the design of systems to support SA. Most recently, the use of artificial intelligence (AI) has rapidly become widespread, and along with it a host of challenges for SA and human cognition. Key strategies for improving SA when working with AI systems will be discussed that are critical for their successful use in a wide variety of applications. Unique aspects of SA in team-based operations will also be discussed, along with issues and strategies for supporting SA in mixed human and AI teams.
Joseph Lyons, Ph.D. - Thursday, March 12
Joseph B. Lyons, a member of the scientific and professional cadre of senior executives, is the Senior Scientist for Human-Machine Teaming, 711th Human Performance Wing, Human Effectiveness Directorate, Air Force Research Laboratory, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio. He serves as the principal scientific authority and independent researcher in the research, development, adaptation, and application of Human-Machine Teaming.
Dr. Lyons began his career with the Air Force in 2005 in the Human Effectiveness Directorate, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio. Dr. Lyons has served as a thought leader for the DoD in the areas of trust in autonomy and Human-Machine Teaming. Dr. Lyons has published over 100 technical publications including 64 journal articles in outlets focused on human factors, human-machine interaction, applied psychology, robotics, and organizational behavior. Dr. Lyons also served as Co-Editor for the 2020 book, Trust in Human-Robot Interaction. Dr. Lyons is an AFRL Fellow, a Fellow of the American Psychological Association, and a Fellow of the Society for Military Psychologists. Prior to assuming his current position, Dr. Lyons served as a Program Officer for the Air Force Office of Scientific Research and was a Principal Research Psychologist within the Human Effectiveness Directorate.
Talk Title: Human-Machine Teaming Research
Human-Machine Teaming (HMT) is an emergent research area within the US Air Force. The current talk will discuss the core research areas within HMT for the Air Force and will offer a few examples of ongoing research projects. The talk will discuss how machine partners can support contingency management and the importance of implementing HMTs responsibly through Responsible use of AI. The talk will close by discussing implications of HMTs for training.
