Dr. Guy Laban
Department of Industrial Engineering and Management
My life before BGU:
I was born and raised in Ramat Gan. I obtained my undergraduate degree at the International School of Reichman University. After completing my bachelor’s I decided I wanted to experience studying abroad, and studied for research master’s at the University of Amsterdam, where I began to study interactions with AI-based agents.
I did my PhD in brain sciences at the University of Glasgow in Scotland, as a Marie Curie Fellow in the innovative ENTWINE network (the European Training Network on Informal Care).
My doctoral research focused on how people communicate with robots and how, accordingly, such robots can help people with mental health. During my doctorate studies I had the opportunity to travel and gain experience in several places: I was a visiting researcher at Constructor University in Germany and Tel Aviv University. At the same time I also worked as a senior researcher at a start-up called uMore, which is developing an application for monitoring symptoms related to mental health. After obtaining my PhD I continued in the same area field, with a postdoc in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Cambridge in England.
Why BGU?
Throughout my academic journey, I was aware of the excellent research - in my own fields and in adjacent ones - carried out at the Department of Industrial Engineering and Management. Our department has human factors engineers, intelligent systems and information systems engineers, data scientists, and cognition researchers. I feel that my research sits at the intersection of these topics, which come together in contemporary research in industrial engineering and management. The department at BGU is the best place for this.
When I initially visited BGU, I sensed that I had excellent rapport with members of the department, that the potential for collaboration was huge, and that my area of research has a real home in the department (and everyone is very nice!). In addition, BGU has the ABC Robotics initiative (Agricultural, Biological, and Cognitive Robotics), the National Center for Autism Research, and other initiatives, which interface wonderfully with my own research. All of this felt like the perfect place for me and for my research.
My Research:
My research bridges computer science and engineering with cognitive and behavioral sciences. I use technological and methodological tools from Human-Centered AI, Conversational AI, and Affective Computing, alongside behavioral paradigms from psychology, cognitive science, and neuroscience. I study how people communicate with, and share their feelings with, AI-based agents such as social robots and chatbots; how these agents can understand and communicate more effectively with people, especially when people are communicating subjective and abstract information such as emotions; and how these interactions influence social and communicative dynamics, cognitive patterns, and mental well-being.
My research on communication and sharing with robots has shown that people become more open over time: responses become more elaborate and detailed, and the emotional language becomes richer. Our research has identified systematic patterns not only in behavior toward robots, but also in the way participants perceive them as social entities, explain their behavior, and describe the effects of encounters with them on their mental well-being. Over time, participants reported improvements across various measures: improved mood, reduced feelings of loneliness and stress, and better emotion-regulation abilities.
An insight from my research:
Curiosity and the ability to learn are the most important qualities in research. My field is dynamic and constantly changing, you have to enjoy the journey and learning new things.
Something that doesn’t appear on my CV:
I’ve traveled to more than 60 countries, and I love discovering and photographing the world (you’re welcome to take a look: https://www.guyloveslife.com).
A source of inspiration:
My grandfather, Dr. Meir Berezin. He immigrated to Israel in the 1970s from the former Soviet Union and settled in Dimona with my grandmother, my mother, and her sister. He was over 40 and didn’t know a word of Hebrew or English. Through hard work, he became Chief Physician of the Metabolic Clinic at Tel HaShomer hospital, Deputy Director of the Endocrinological Institute, Chair of the Israel Endocrine Society, a senior lecturer and researcher at Tel Aviv University, Secretary of the Israel Diabetes Association, and a beloved grandfather.
My PhD supervisor, Prof. Emily S. Cross, also had a tremendous influence on me. And most important of all, my wife, who is an enormous source of inspiration.
When I grow up...
As a child, I wanted to be an “inventor” — someone who invents new technologies.
As a teenager, I wanted to be an ambassador or a diplomat.
If I weren’t a researcher, I’d be...
An entrepreneur.
In brief:
- Morning or night? Morning
- Summer or winter? Israeli winter is nice
- Steak or tofu? Steaks. plural
- Berry Sakharof or Noa Kirel? Berry
- Instant coffee or espresso? Espresso. Double
- Trekking or beach bum? Start with a trek and end with some beach time
- A night out with friends or night alone? Sometimes one, sometimes the other
- Car or train? Train
- Classical Europe or the Far East? Both. But if I must choose, then after nearly a decade in Europe, I’m happy to spend more time in the East
- Ocean or pool? Ocean
- City or Country? City, with an escape to the countryside every other weekend.
- Dog or cat? Always dog
- Fantasy or reality? Sci-fi, preferably about robots
