The Spotlight Award is given in recognition of significant contributions to the field of media preservation and access at the discretion of the AMIA board. Hendler's visionary role in creating access to diverse content through semantic technologies and machine learning led the board's decision to honor his accomplishments.

Spotlight Award - Association of Moving Image Archivists

The award was created to “recognize disruptive, innovative technologies in big data and data science, highlight data science as an increasing importance for companies, and showcase the highlights of the growing data community.” Hendler was cited for “ Most Effective Opening of Data,” as exemplified by his work making federal datasets available on the federal government repository data.gov more accessible to the public.

Strata Data Innovation Award

The Department of the Air Force Decoration for Exceptional Civilian Service is the highest award granted by the Secretary of the Air Force to civilian employees of the U.S. Department of the Air Force. Nominees must have established a demonstrable pattern of excellence and achievement.  James Hendler was awarded this decoration for service to the Air Force on technical issues in cybersecurity, command and control, and in relation to work performed following the events of September 11, 2001.

US Air Force Exceptional Civilian Service Medal

20 Most Innovative Professors in America

Fellow, National Academy of Public Administration

Fellow, Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence

Fellow, Association for Computing Machinery

Fellow, IEEE

Why the Prospect of the IRS Using Facial Recognition Is So Alarming

As governments adopt artificial intelligence there’s little oversight and lots of danger

From the Semantic Web to social machines: A research challenge for AI on the World Wide Web

Web science: an interdisciplinary approach to understanding the web

The semantic web

Will your next doctor be a human being—or a machine? Will you have a choice? If you do, what should you know before making it?This book introduces the reader to the pitfalls and promises of artificial intelligence (AI) in its modern incarnation and the growing trend of systems to "reach off the Web" into the real world. The convergence of AI, social networking, and modern computing is creating an historic inflection point in the partnership between human beings and machines with potentially profound impacts on the future not only of computing but of our world and species.AI experts and researchers James Hendler—co-originator of the Semantic Web (Web 3.0)—and Alice Mulvehill—developer of AI-based operational systems for DARPA, the Air Force, and NASA—explore the social implications of AI systems in the context of a close examination of the technologies that make them possible. The authors critically evaluate the utopian claims and dystopian counterclaims of AI prognosticators. Social Machines: The Coming Collision of Artificial Intelligence, Social Networking, and Humanity is your richly illustrated field guide to the future of your machine-mediated relationships with other human beings and with increasingly intelligent machines.What Readers Will LearnWhat the concept of a social machine is and how the activities of non-programmers are contributing to machine intelligenceHow modern artificial intelligence technologies, such as Watson, are evolving and how they process knowledge from both carefully produced information (such as Wikipedia and journal articles) and from big data collectionsThe fundamentals of neuromorphic computing, knowledge graph search, and linked data, as well as the basic technology concepts that underlie networking applications such as Facebook and TwitterHow the change in attitudes towards cooperative work on the Web, especially in the younger demographic, is critical to the future of Web applicationsWho This Book Is ForGeneral readers and technically engaged developers, entrepreneurs, and technologists interested in the threats and promises of the accelerating convergence of artificial intelligence with social networks and mobile web technologies.

Social Machines: The Coming Collision of Artificial Intelligence, Social Networking, and Humanity

Semantic Web models and technologies provide information in machine-readable languages that enable computers to access the Web more intelligently and perform tasks automatically without the direction of users. These technologies are relatively recent and advancing rapidly, creating a set of unique challenges for those developing applications.  Semantic Web for the Working Ontologist is the essential, comprehensive resource on semantic modeling, for practitioners in health care, artificial intelligence, finance, engineering, military intelligence, enterprise architecture, and more. Focused on developing useful and reusable models, this market-leading book explains how to build semantic content (ontologies) and how to build applications that access that content. New in this edition:   Coverage of the latest Semantic Web tools for organizing, querying, and processing information - see details in TOC below Detailed information on the latest ontologies used in key web applications including ecommerce, social networking, data mining, using government data, and more Updated with the latest developments and advances in Semantic Web technologies for organizing, querying, and processing information, including SPARQL, RDF and RDFS, OWL 2.0, and SKOS Detailed information on the ontologies used in today's key web applications, including ecommerce, social networking, data mining, using government data, and more Even more illustrative examples and case studies that demonstrate what semantic technologies are and how they work together to solve real-world problems

Semantic Web for the Working Ontologist, Second Edition: Effective Modeling in RDFS and OWL

As the World Wide Web continues to expand, it becomes increasingly difficult for users to obtain information efficiently. Because most search engines read format languages such as HTML or SGML, search results reflect formatting tags more than actual page content, which is expressed in natural language. Spinning the Semantic Web describes an exciting new type of hierarchy and standardization that will replace the current "web of links" with a "web of meaning." Using a flexible set of languages and tools, the Semantic Web will make all available information―display elements, metadata, services, images, and especially content―accessible. The result will be an immense repository of information accessible for a wide range of new applications.This first handbook for the Semantic Web covers, among other topics, software agents that can negotiate and collect information, markup languages that can tag many more types of information in a document, and knowledge systems that enable machines to read Web pages and determine their reliability. The truly interdisciplinary Semantic Web combines aspects of artificial intelligence, markup languages, natural language processing, information retrieval, knowledge representation, intelligent agents, and databases.

Spinning the Semantic Web (MIT Press): Bringing the World Wide Web to Its Full Potential (The MIT Press)

Rensselaer is America’s oldest technological research university, offering bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees in engineering, the sciences, information technology and web science, architecture, management, and the humanities, arts, and social sciences.

The university offers degrees from five schools: Engineering; Science; Architecture; Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences; and the Lally School of Management; as well as an interdisciplinary degree in Information Technology and Web Science.

Rensselaer offers more than 145 programs at the bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral levels. Students are encouraged to work in interdisciplinary programs that allow them to combine scholarly work from several departments or schools. The university provides rigorous, engaging, interactive learning environments and campus-wide opportunities for leadership, collaboration, and creativity.

Driven by talented, dedicated, and forward-thinking faculty, Rensselaer has dramatically expanded the research enterprise by leveraging our existing strengths and focusing on five signature research areas: biotechnology and the life sciences; energy and the environment; computational science and engineering; nanotechnology and advanced materials; and media, arts, science, and technology.

The Institute is especially well-known for its success in the transfer of technology from the laboratory to the marketplace so that new discoveries and inventions benefit human life, protect the environment, and strengthen economic development.

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

James Hendler is the Director of the Future of Computing Institute, Tetherless World Professor of Computer, Web and Cognitive Sciences, and Director of the RPI-IBM Artificial Intelligence Research Collaboration. 

Hendler is a data scientist with specific interests in open government and scientific data, data science for healthcare, AI and machine learning, semantic data integration and the use of data in government. One of the originators of the Semantic Web, he has authored over 450 books, technical papers, and articles in the areas of Open Data, the Semantic Web, artificial intelligence, and data policy and governance. He is also the former Chief Scientist of the Information Systems Office at the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and was awarded a US Air Force Exceptional Civilian Service Medal in 2002. He is the first computer scientist ever to have served on the Board of Reviewing editors for Science. In 2010, Hendler was selected as an “Internet Web Expert” by the US government and helped in the development and launch of the US data.gov open data website. In 2013, he was appointed as the Open Data Advisor to New York State and in 2015 appointed a member of the US Homeland Security Science and Technology Advisory Committee. In 2016, became a member of the National Academies Board on Research Data and Information, in 2017 a member of the Director’s Advisory Committee of the National Security Directorate of PNNL, and in 2021 became chair of the ACM’s global Technology Policy Council. Hendler is a Fellow of the US National Academy of Public Administration, the AAAI, AAAS, ACM, BCS and IEEE.

Artificial Intelligence

Cybersecurity

Technology Policy

Semantic Web

Machine Learning

Computer Science

Big Data

Homepage at Rensselaer 

Amazon Author Page

Participation in Roundtable Panels at WAMC radio

The Roundtable

James Hendler is a professor at RPI

Humans of 2022! Can AI robots be good, evil or have a soul?

RPI's Hendler Discusses Cambridge Analytica

People of ACM - Jim Hendler

The business of artificial intelligence: a conversation with Professor James Hendler

IBM, Rensselaer Polytech launch AI, cognitive computing project

IBM’s Watson goes to school: A Q&A with RPI’s Jim Hendler

Broad Data: What Happens When the Web of Data Becomes Real

Increasing Access to the Web of "Broad Data"

James Hendler: «Hace falta un código ético para que la web crezca como una fuerza del bien»

Meeting with President Obama, 2012

what-you-need-to-know-about-cybersecurity-from-the-director-of-the-rensselaer-future-of-computing-institute

Director, Future of Computing Institute

 Cyber threats have become one of the leading issues for corporations, governments, and public institutions across America. With ransomware attacks, hackers, and other nefarious threats, the issue is becoming a daily occurrence and leading news story.

 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s James Hendler, director of the Future of Computing Institute, Tetherless World Professor of Computer, Web, and Cognitive Sciences, and director of the RPI-IBM Artificial Intelligence Research Collaboration, weighs in on what we should all know about cybersecurity.

Overview Think about cybersecurity the way you think about home security – the more valuables you have, the more security you need. A normal user needs the equivalent of a lock on the door, which most of our computers provide out of the box. However, a user with a fair amount of personal information, who keeps financial records or runs a small business, probably wants a firewall or other additional protection.

We used to tell people to protect their computers with firewalls, malware detectors, and the like, but now it is much more important to protect your web access, be wary of external sites, and keep your passwords secure and not easily guessed. Use of a password manager program can be really helpful for people who use a lot of different accounts.

 Threats The biggest threat facing individuals is identity theft caused by someone getting into an account that you don’t control. Most malware or password stealing comes via a phishing attack (a fake email that convinces you to click a bad link), so if you see an offer that looks too good to be true, don’t believe it.

Never give out a password or personal information without confirming that it is legitimate. We also recommend not using major accounts (like Google, Facebook, etc.) to log in to new apps where you aren’t completely sure of the reliability – you’re safer if you use a separate password. It’s also worth noting that these kinds of attacks are now happening on cell phones – if you get a text saying your
Amazon, Netflix, or other services have been shut off, be very careful. These companies almost never send out such messages, and if they do, they come via email, not text.

For businesses, ransomware is becoming an increasing challenge. Frequent backups and dual authentication are absolute musts for small businesses. Large businesses, and especially those with cyber-physical connections such as a manufacturing device, must have someone on the team who understands internet technology. Outside audits done annually, at least, are also highly recommended.

The biggest danger in cybersecurity is that people, especially in businesses, think that the software industry will fix things and that they don’t have to worry. That’s like expecting auto manufacturers to stop car theft, or the government to prevent all crime – these organizations certainly need to help, but
they cannot be perfect. So while there definitely needs to be a role for manufacturers and government, people need to understand that the threats are now coming from social interactions such as phishing, or serious criminal enterprises such as ransomware attackers, and not just maladjusted teenagers. They must be ready to pay for some security if they have things on their network that need protection.

 The Cloud Cloud-based services are a major boon to cybersecurity for individuals and small businesses if, and only if, people protect their access. If a breach is reported to you by a company, don’t ignore it, change your password, and, whenever possible, use dual authentication. The cloud companies can afford to spend
more on security than you can and thus your information stored in these services tends to be quite secure. However, people need to be careful in using the cloud. Just as you may trust a bank with your money, you want to be sure not to be robbed on your way there.

Future Computing Systems and Cybersecurity New technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI), are arising all the time in today’s fast-moving cyber world. As these technologies arise, they can create new opportunities for cybersecurity, but can also create new challenges. Cybercrime will never disappear, and each new capability comes with a price.

Increased education and awareness of emerging computing technologies (blockchain, quantum, etc.) are important not just for the expert, but also for the general public. It is important to stay informed and pay attention to what is being reported. Just as buying a new appliance can be a great advantage at
home (I love my new air-fryer), you also have to be sure to be using it appropriately (used wrong, it can cause fires).


Looking to learn more or connect with an expert for your questions and coverage? James Hendler is the director of the Rensselaer Future of Computing Institute, Tetherless World Professor of Computer, Web, and Cognitive Sciences, and director of the RPI-IBM Artificial Intelligence Research Collaboration.

Hendler has authored over 400 books, technical papers, and articles in the areas of Semantic Web, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and high-performance processing.

Hendler is available to speak with media - simply click on his icon now to arrange an interview today.


What You Need To Know About Cybersecurity From the Director of the Rensselaer Future of Computing Institute

facebook-oversight-boards-trump-ruling-underscores-need-for-clear-regulatory-frameworks-for-social-media

The Facebook Oversight Board’s ruling temporarily upholding the social media giant’s ban on former President Donald J. Trump, which they instructed the company to reassess within six months, noted that the parameters for an indefinite suspension are not defined in Facebook's policies. The non-decision in this high-profile case illustrates the difficulties stemming from the lack of clear frameworks for regulating social media.

For starters, says web science pioneer James Hendler, social media companies need a better definition of the misinformation they seek curb.  Absent a set of societally agreed upon rules, like those that define slander and libel, companies currently create and enforce their own policies — and the results have been mixed at best.

 
“If Trump wants to sue to get his Facebook or Twitter account back, there’s no obvious legal framework. There’s nothing to say of the platform, ‘If it does X, Y, or Z, then it is violating the law,’” said Hendler, director of the Institute for Data Exploration and Applications at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. “If there were, Trump would have to prove in court that it doesn’t do X, Y, or Z, or Twitter would have to prove that it does, and we would have a way to adjudicate it.” 

As exemplified in disputes over the 2020 presidential election results, political polarization is inflamed by a proliferation of online misinformation. A co-author of the seminal 2006 Science article that established the concept of web science, Hendler said that “as society wrestles with the social, ethical, and legal questions surrounding misinformation and social media regulation, it needs technologist to help inform this debate.” 

“People are claiming artificial intelligence will handle this, but computers and AI are very bad at ‘I’ll know it when I see it,’” said Hendler, who’s most recent book is titled Social Machines: The Coming Collision of Artificial Intelligence, Social Networking, and Humanity. “What we need is a framework that makes it much clearer: What are we looking for? What happens when we find it? And who’s responsible?”  

The legal restrictions on social media companies are largely dictated by a single sentence in the Communications Decency Act of 1996, known as Section 230, which establishes that internet providers and services will not be treated as traditional publishers, and thus are not legally responsible for much of the content they link to. According to Hendler, this clause no longer adequately addresses the scale and scope of power these companies currently wield.

“Social media companies provide a podium with an international reach of hundreds of millions of people. Just because social media companies are legally considered content providers rather than publishers, it doesn’t mean they’re not responsible for anything on their site,” Hendler said. “What counts as damaging misinformation? With individuals and publishers, we answer that question all the time with libel and slander laws. But what we don’t have is a corresponding set of principles to adjudicate harm through social media.” 

Hendler has extensive experience in policy and advisory positions that consider aspects of artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and internet and web technologies as they impact issues such as regulation of social media, and powerful technologies including facial recognition and artificial intelligence. Hendler is available to speak to diverse aspects of policies related to social media, information technologies, and AI.



Facebook Oversight Board’s Trump Ruling Underscores Need for Clear Regulatory Frameworks for Social Media

as-flexible-voting-options-scrutinized-expert-says-online-voting-not-a-safe-alternative

The popularity of — and controversies surrounding — early voting and mail-in ballots demonstrates a demand for more flexible voting options. But online voting shouldn’t be up for consideration, according to James Hendler, the head of the Institute for Data Exploration and Applications at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.  

Hendler also chairs the U.S. Technology Policy Committee of the Association for Computing Machinery, the world’s largest and oldest society of individuals involved in all aspects of computing. 

In public statements expressing his own opinion and on behalf of the ACM, Hendler has discussed the vulnerabilities of online voting and the organization’s effort to press against its adoption. Hendler argues that online voting is not, and cannot be made to be, secure against malware and denial of service attacks — and that no app or underlying technology, including blockchain, holds potential to overcome those challenges. 

"The current state of mobile voting is that we are not ready to deploy it at scale, that it has significant technical and socio-technical aspects, particularly cybersecurity, that we need to worry about, and that there are alternatives,” Hendler said. “The ACM has worked hard as an organization to explain our evidence-based reasoning, and to express the hope that online-voting won’t be used now and in the foreseeable future.”

In explaining why online voting is more complicated than online banking, shopping and other common internet activities, Hendler said, “The main reason that online voting is more complex is that it must maintain anonymity, no one is allowed to know how you voted.  Securing online voting without providing access to identity is extremely difficult.  There are other reasons as well including the staggering cost and the lack of a centralized US authority, but identity management remains the number one.”

Under his leadership, the ACM’s U.S. Technology Policy Committee, along with leading organizations and experts in cybersecurity and computing, sent a letter  to all governors, secretaries of state and other state election directors urging them not to allow the use of internet or voting app systems. 

Hendler has extensive experience in policy and advisory positions that consider aspects of artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and internet and web technologies as they impact issues such as  online voting and the regulation of social media and powerful technologies including facial recognition and artificial intelligence. In light of ongoing political unrest, Hendler is available to speak to diverse aspects of information technology as related to the election, AI in applications like policing, and the politics related to social media. 



As Flexible Voting Options Scrutinized, Expert Says Online Voting Not a Safe Alternative

Artificial Intelligence vs Humans - Jim disagrees with Stephen Hawking about the role Artificial Intelligence will play in our lives.

Jim is an artificial intelligence researcher at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and one of the originators of the Semantic Web.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx

Artificial Intelligence vs humans | Jim Hendler | TEDxBaltimore

http://strataconf.com/ Recently we have begun to see the emergence of a new online data challenge—that of the "Broad data" that emerges from millions and mil...

Strata 2013: James Hendler, "Broad Data: What Happens When the Web of Data Becomes Real?"

Professor Jim Hendler joins Michael J. Keegan on The Business of Government Hour to discuss the evolution of AI and insights from his book "Social Machines: The Coming Collision of Artificial Intelligence, Social Networking, and Humanity."  

The next decades are going to see major changes in society wrought by the increasingly connected nature of our social existence and the AI technology that is accelerating that change at a rapid rate. Optimists see reasons for hope; perhaps these new AI technologies will make life better for all of us; Pessimists, reasons for fear: is the robot apocalypse about to start?

It is important to understand enough about the AI technology underlying this disruption to navigate through these changing times. 
What is artificial intelligence (AI) and how has it evolved? 
What challenges does AI present? 

Jim and Michael discuss these questions and so much more. 

The Business of Government Hour
https://www.podcastone.com/episode/Business-of-Government-Hour---Professor-James-Hendler


Social Machines
www.amazon.com/Social-Machines-Artificial-Intelligence-Networking/dp/148421157X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1517605683&sr=8-1&keywords=social+machineshttps:

Prof. Jim Hendler on Evolution of Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Analyzing the challenges posed by Artificial Intelligence at the 4th Heidelberg Laureate Forum – Experts discuss the costs and benefits created by developments brought on by Artificial Intelligence. 
 
In recent years, Artificial Intelligence (AI) has established itself at the forefront of technological innovation. That is precisely why AI was the focus of the Hot Topic at the 4th Heidelberg Laureate Forum (HLF). The session was comprised of a panel discussion with leading researchers debating the current scientific trends in AI and its applications. 
Today, AI is no longer a brash, cryptic concept taken directly from the pages of science fiction. The developments owed to the technology based on AI have altered what we thought possible and has done so in a much quicker fashion than was predicted. The power behind these advancements is already very evident with self-driving cars or algorithms that profile our Internet activity in order to tailor ads and search results. Though fascinating, this progress comes with a price of control and privacy loss that incites ethical questions.
 
The Hot Topic session took place on September 20, 2016.
  
Speaker:
 
James A. Hendler is Professor of Computer, Web and Cognitive Sciences at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in the state of New York. He will give an introduction into current AI technologies.


The opinions expressed in this video do not necessarily reflect the views of the Heidelberg Laureate Forum Foundation or any other person or associated institution involved in the making and distribution of the video. 


Background:

The Heidelberg Laureate Forum Foundation (HLFF) annually organizes the Heidelberg Laureate Forum (HLF), which is a networking event for mathematicians and computer scientists from all over the world. The 4th Heidelberg Laureate Forum took place from September 18 to 23, 2016. The HLFF was established and is funded by the German foundation the Klaus Tschira Stiftung (KTS), which promotes natural sciences, mathematics and computer science. The Scientific Partners of the HLFF are the Heidelberg Institute for Theoretical Studies (HITS) and Heidelberg University. The HLF is strongly supported by the award-granting institutions, the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM: ACM A.M. Turing Award, ACM Prize in Computing as of 2017), the International Mathematical Union (IMU: Fields Medal, Nevanlinna Prize), and the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters (DNVA: Abel Prize).


More information to the Heidelberg Laureate Forum:

Website: http://www.heidelberg-laureate-forum.org/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HeidelbergLaureateForum
Twitter: https://twitter.com/hlforum
Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/hlforum
More videos from the HLF: https://www.youtube.com/user/LaureateForum
Blog: https://scilogs.spektrum.de/hlf/

4th HLF – Hot Topic: Artificial Intelligence – Presentation James A. Hendler

Jim Hendler discusses approaches to image recognition and methods for improving upon current iterations of AI.

AI 2018

AI in the era of Watson, Deep Learning and the Semantic Web

http://www.weforum.org/ 12.09.2009 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in the IdeasLab for a creative look at innovative engineering. Discussion Leader: James A...

Select Inquiry Type