Davide Picca

Davide Picca is a Lecturer (MER 2) at the Section of Language and Information Sciences, Faculty of Letters, University of Lausanne since 2016. His academic journey includes a PhD in Computer Science and Mathematical Methods (2010, University of Lausanne) and a degree in Philosophy of Science (specializing in Cognitive Science, 2003, University of Bologna).

Research focuses on formal ontologies and semiotic theories, particularly applied to computational hermeneutics, moral foundation prediction, and cultural heritage digitization. Collaborations include Columbia University, ISTC-CNR Rome, Yahoo! Research Barcelona, and IBM Research.

Key contributions span

• Emotional analysis in classical literature (Dostoevsky, Homer, Shakespeare)
• Ontology-based systems for Project Gutenberg texts and legal corpora
• Interdisciplinary methods combining fluid dynamics and emotion modeling

Recent work explores AI ethics through semiotic lenses, moral prediction frameworks, and computational approaches to intangible cultural heritage preservation.