PeopleofSuperintelligence

Researcher

Fosca Giannotti

Also known as F Giannotti, F. Giannotti

Fosca Giannotti is a computer scientist whose work uses social data mining and develops ways to explain AI decisions. She earned a computer-science degree at Pisa in 1982, co-directed the KDD Lab, and became research director at ISTI-CNR in 2007. She led the SoBigData infrastructure and the ERC-funded XAI project, became a full professor at Scuola Normale Superiore in 2021, and coordinates its human-centered AI group. In 2026, she coordinates Illume-4-Science, which applies explainable AI to biomedical research on cancer and drug development.

Born
1958

Years link to their sources.

Timeline

  1. 1982

    A computer science degree

    She earns a degree in computer science at the University of Pisa in 1982.

  2. 1996–2004

    The Pisa KDD Lab

    She co-directs the Pisa KDD Lab, a joint initiative of the University of Pisa, ISTI-CNR and Scuola Normale, from 1996. In 2004, she co-chairs ECML/PKDD, the European conference on Machine Learning and Knowledge Discovery in Data Bases.

  3. 2007

    Research director at ISTI-CNR

    She becomes research director at ISTI-CNR in 2007, after holding appointments at UCLA, North Eastern University, MCC, La Sorbonne and CWI.

  4. 2015–2019

    Leading SoBigData

    She leads SoBigData from 2015 to 2019. The infrastructure supports ethics-sensitive research and advanced applications of social data mining.

  5. 2019–2025

    XAI and Horizon Europe

    From 2019 to 2025, she leads the ERC Advanced Grant XAI project on explaining opaque AI decisions. Since February 2020, she serves as Italy's delegate to Horizon Europe's Cluster 4, Digital, Industry and Space.

  6. Since 2021

    Professor at Scuola Normale

    She becomes a professor of computer science at Scuola Normale Superiore in 2021. The Normale's DHAI group, active since 2022, studies explainable and trustworthy AI through human-AI co-design.

  7. March 2025

    Addressing gender bias in AI

    On 12 March 2025, she calls for AI design techniques that help researchers identify gender discrimination and make that work part of system design.

  8. As of October 2026

    Illume-4-Science at Normale

    In January 2026, she coordinates Illume-4-Science, an ERC Proof of Concept that applies explainable AI to biomedical research on cancer and drug development. As of October 2026, she is a professor of computer science at Scuola Normale Superiore and coordinates the DHAI group.

Career

  1. Since 2021Scuola Normale SuperioreProfessor of Computer Science
  2. From 2007National Research CouncilResearch Director
  3. 1996–2004Pisa Knowledge Discovery and Data Mining LaboratoryCo-director

Education

  1. 1982University of PisaComputer Science degree

From the biography.

  1. Of 216 AI researchers who entered public life, 83 held advisory seats and 58 took public rolesIncludes Fosca Giannotti. Of 216 AI researchers who entered public life, 83 held advisory seats and 58 took public roles. Another 97 people moved from public careers into AI organizations or research, with 62% of dated records starting from 2020 on.
  2. More people shaping AI studied at Massachusetts Institute of Technology than at any other institutionIncludes Scuola Normale Superiore. We estimate where the people shaping AI studied and where their careers led. Massachusetts Institute of Technology leads with 467 former students, including 291 recorded doctorates.
  3. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology trained or employed 44 of the 187 AI major-prize winners, more than any other universityIncludes Scuola Normale Superiore. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology trained or employed 44 of the 187 AI major-prize winners, more than any other university. We compare doctorate and 5+ year employment links, career timing and current workplaces for 187 major-prize and 1,111 best-paper winners.
  4. The United States employs an estimated 48% of people shaping AIIncludes National Research Council. We estimate where the people shaping AI work today, how universities, companies and research institutes split across countries, and how country shares have changed since the 1960s.

Colleagues

People with dated positions at the same organization in the same years.

Sources and credits

Photo: We have no published photo of Fosca Giannotti yet. Send us a free-licensed photo.

  1. Fosca Giannotti | ScuolaNormaleSuperiore sns.it. Checked 21 October 2026.
  2. Giannotti Fosca | Knowledge Discovery and Data Mining Laboratory kdd.isti.cnr.it. Checked 21 October 2026.
  3. SoBigData - SoBigData Research Infrastructure (ISTI) (DIT.AD004.007) cnr.it. Checked 21 October 2026.
  4. SoBigData Research Infrastructure cordis.europa.eu. Checked 21 October 2026.
  5. XAI - Science and technology for the explanation of AI decision making (DIT.AD004.097) cnr.it. Checked 21 October 2026.
  6. DHAI - Data science and Human-centered Artificial Intelligence sns.it. Checked 21 October 2026.
  7. Intelligenza artificiale: progettiamo in un’ottica di genere vita.it. Checked 21 October 2026.
  8. Una piattaforma di Intelligenza Artificiale trasparente e responsabile in ambito biomedico per ricerche sul cancro e lo sviluppo di nuovi farmaci normalenews.sns.it. Checked 21 October 2026.