-
tewgdy
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Nunc at neque sapien. Vestibulum massa tortor, sagittis non lorem id, blandit ultricies magna. Maecenas odio libero, semper at dignissim quis, dictum a est. Phasellus tempor nisl semper, accumsan ipsum quis, pretium tellus.
read more › -
teste
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Nunc at neque sapien. Vestibulum massa tortor, sagittis non lorem id, blandit ultricies magna. Maecenas odio libero, semper at dignissim quis, dictum a est. Phasellus tempor nisl semper, accumsan ipsum quis, pretium tellus.
read more › -
In the Media: Inês Lynce reflects on education in the age of AI on the “AI Talks, Humans Answer” podcast
Not prohibiting students matters — banning adults rarely works. That was one of the key ideas shared by Inês Lynce on the use of artificial intelligence and large language models in higher education, in the latest episode of Xpandit’s AI Talks, Humans Answer. At a time when universities are debating regulations and even prohibitions on the use of AI, Inês Lynce, INESC-ID researcher in artificial intelligence, President of the Board of Directors, and Professor at Instituto Superior Técnico, joins host Sérgio Viana (Xpandit) to reflect on how learning and teaching are changing in a world of increasingly ubiquitous AI models. The researcher reflects on how students can use these tools critically, and the evolving roles of teachers, curricula and student assessment. She also raises broader concerns about the social impact of AI, stressing the importance of human mentorship, curiosity and critical questioning as foundations of education, regardless of technology. Watch the full episode: here
read more › -
Big steps towards a smaller footprint: INESC-ID contributes to innovative carbon-management platform
Environmental requirements and regulations have been increasing in an effort to address the climate crisis, one of society’s main concerns in recent years. These goals, however urgent, can be challenging to meet.
read more › -
Spin-offs: HeartGenetics — from code to genes
When HeartGenetics was created, most people didn’t know they needed genetic screening in order to manage their health in a personal way. “We had a product that was good for people, even if they didn’t know it yet. It’s what Apple did — we didn’t know we needed an iPhone until we had one”, compares Ana Teresa Freitas, INESC-ID researcher and the co-founder of the spin-off from INESC-ID. We were a “technology push” company, she details (as opposed to a market pull company). It was 2013 when the initiative at the intersection of digital and biotechnology was stepping showed up to harness the power of genetics not to diagnose disease after it strikes, but to predict, prevent, and personalize health interventions, long before symptoms appear. At the heart of the company lies a powerful idea: that we can use genetic information, processed through polygenic risk models and sophisticated computational biology algorithms, to tell people not what they’re suffering from, but what they are at risk of and what they can do about it. “The idea was to bring genetics closer to people, especially in a preventive context,” Ana Teresa explains. “We weren’t trying to diagnose, we were trying to give people knowledge so that they can act earlier.” This novel approach meant HeartGenetics had to create a space in a healthcare market that wasn’t exactly waiting with open arms. Especially in Europe, health-related innovation often runs into a tangle of regulatory fragmentation, reimbursement policies, and institutional inertia. For a company founded in Portugal, this added extra layers of troubles. “Consumers — we humans as consumers — are very difficult,” she says. “And then, companies that are born in very small geographies like Portugal face another huge barrier from the start: the market itself. That’s very limiting. And in healthcare, it’s terrible! Every new country is a new regulatory wall, a new barrier to entry, a new barrier of trust.” And to exemplify this, Ana Teresa recalls a meeting with representatives from the United Arab Emirates: “They told us: ‘We love your product. We want it. Do you know why we’re even in this meeting? Because you were introduced by a Dutch company.’ That’s how difficult it is to be born in the South.” Good science, good user experience At its core, HeartGenetics combines genetics, machine learning, and clinical research. Their polygenic risk models — built from genome-wide association studies (GWAS) — aggregate multiple genetic variants into a single score, estimating an individual’s predisposition to complex diseases like cardiovascular conditions (the start of it), diabetes, or even how they might metabolise certain nutrients or respond to exercise. Ana Teresa and her team spent years refining these models. But innovation wasn’t just about the science, it was also about user experience. The company developed digital health reports that are not only clinically accurate, but also human-readable, tailored for individuals and healthcare professionals alike. HeartGenetics created an expert system with more than 10,000 coded rules, combining genetic data (as polygenic risk models) with wellness and lifestyle information to deliver personalised recommendations. “We didn’t want to give people a DNA report full of acronyms and technical jargon. We wanted to give them a clear picture of their health risks and how to act on them — something you could take to your doctor or your nutritionist and actually do something with.” Despite the scientific robustness, scaling the company meant navigating the slow and complex maze of health regulations. In Europe, each country interprets medical device (the category in which genetic screening is included) directives differently, leading to hurdles that are especially hard to clear for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). “Portugal has very few companies in biotech or medtech because the regulations are not designed to support them,” she says. “In many cases, you can’t even get a tax incentive unless you’re a large multinational. That’s completely the opposite of how innovation ecosystems should work.” To grow, HeartGenetics had to look beyond its home country. “You need to think globally from the start. Portugal is too small. And yet, we had to go through all the same regulatory steps as a company from France or Germany, often with fewer resources.” When asked what she would tell aspiring entrepreneurs in tech or biotech, Freitas is clear-eyed: “You can’t do this kind of company straight out of school. You need experience — scientific, technical, and business. You need to understand what a clinical trial is. You need to know what it means to validate a medical algorithm at the European level. This is not an app you can pivot in a weekend.” She also warns against romanticising entrepreneurship. For her, starting a company wasn’t a lifelong dream — it was an opportunity that made sense given her research, her team, and her vision for a better way to deliver healthcare. Sold at the early days of the pandemics, HeartGenetics continued to evolve until 2022 when Freitas left the company, exploring deeper integrations with digital health platforms and longitudinal health monitoring. After all, how can we manage our health properly without understanding our genes? The hardest of being an entrepreneur: The greatest challenge of entrepreneurship was overcoming structural barriers in the healthtech sector. Consumers are naturally cautious, and trust is hard to earn — especially in healthcare. Coming from a small country like Portugal added further obstacles: a limited local market, fragmented regulations across Europe, and few incentives for small digital health and biotech companies. HeartGenetics had to think globally from day one, yet still faced the same complex approval processes as larger competitors, with far fewer resources. Building credibility often required external validation, particularly from companies based in more established markets. The main lesson: If you want to become an entrepreneur start by immersing yourself in the ecosystem — joining accelerators, speaking with investors, and testing ideas early. A diverse and experienced core team is essential from the outset. It's important to abandon unviable ideas quickly and to be prepared for setbacks. Facing rejection from the market and investors is frustrating but necessary; it helps refine the business and align it with real-world demand. Early-stage feedback, even when harsh, is a critical part of building a viable company. — Text by Sara Sá © 2025 INESC-ID. Credit INESC-ID and the author, with a link to the original source, when sharing or adapting this article.
read more › -
In the Media: André Duarte’s research revealing AI-memorised copyrighted content featured in The Register
The source of Large Language Models’ (LLM) knowledge is often unclear. Besides the fact that most commercial AI vendors do not disclose their full training datasets, current AI models are usually reluctant to reveal memorised content. Research by INESC-ID and Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) Portugal PhD student André Duarte's has recently been featured in an article in The Register, discussing this issue. The focus is a paper co-authored by André, “RECAP: Reproducing Copyrighted Data from LLMs Training with an Agentic Pipeline”, which describes a software agent, RECAP, that is more effective in coaxing memorised content from LLMs, helping to determine what texts were used to train them and if they are copyrighted. Throughout the article, André explains what makes RECAP different from other software with the same purpose, and states that although one focus of this research concerns copyrighted content, the broader goal is to understand how memorisation happens in LLMs. This development has the potential to address regulatory concerns and help clarify copyright infringement claims from AI model training. The authors of the paper, which also include INESC-ID researcher, Arlindo Oliveira, argue that concerns regarding whether AI is being trained on proprietary data highlight the need for tools that can find what AI models have memorised. Read the full article here.
read more › -
INESC-ID Awards 2025: celebrating research excellence and the people who make it
Closing the year, the INESC-ID Awards 2025 brought together researchers, students and staff to recognise three outstanding contributions to the institute’s scientific life and impact.
read more › -
Know-it-all Quiz: a INESC-ID PhD Student Meetup to close 2025
Earlier this month, our PhD students had their last meetup of 2025. After working hours, around twenty students gathered to room 9 of Alves Redol (INESC-ID headquarters), for a quiz game.
read more › -
What fun it is to laugh and chat at the INESC Lx Christmas party
As is tradition, the three INESC Lisbon institutes, INESC-ID, INESC-MN and INOV, had their Christmas gathering on December 17 to mark the jolliest time of the year.
read more ›
