Information Visualisation (InfoVis) systems moderate information overload. However, their potential in critical decision-making scenarios is not yet fully exploited. A clear understanding and rapid assessment based on the available data are crucial in emergencies. The EU-funded SYMBIOTIK project will design an innovative framework where the human and InfoVis systems cooperate and co-evolve to support decision making processes. AI solutions with context awareness, emotion sensing, and expressing capabilities are pivotal. The project will define an integrative approach for awareness engineering, propose a specific open source implementation, and demonstrate and validate the role and added-value of such an awareness framework in two scenarios: supporting novice-to-expert transitions and critical decision-making.

SYMBIOTIK envisions an effortless interaction dialogue between human and InfoVis systems to support decision making processes, inspired by known biological principles and guided by artificial intelligence (AI). Critically, this dialogue requires AI solutions with context awareness, emotion sensing, and expressing capabilities. We propose a novel framework where both the human and the machine cooperate towards a common goal and evolve together. Awareness principles will allow us to engineer complex systems, making them more resilient and more human-centric. We will define an integrative approach for awareness engineering and propose a specific open source implementation. Finally, we will demonstrate and validate the role and added-value of such an awareness framework in two scenarios: supporting novice-to-expert transitions and critical decision making. The awareness principles to be developed in this project can support learning, adaptation, and self-development of intelligent systems over long periods of time, not only in the InfoVis domain. Therefore, SYMBIOTIK has potential to achieve the real breakthroughs needed to bring awareness and emotional intelligence for decision-making tasks in computing systems. The results of the project will benefit a range of stakeholders, from human vision and brain researchers, computer scientists, citizens, as well as research funding bodies and policy makers.