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sirrice merged 1 commit into from
May 21, 2026
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Strengthen site positioning: trustworthy agent automation & vertical integration #79

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6 changes: 3 additions & 3 deletions _config.yml
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@@ -1,8 +1,8 @@
title: "DAPLab"
tagline: "Data, Agents, and Processes | Columbia University"
description: "DAPLab at Columbia University advances research on agent-based automation across systems, AI, HCI, and operations research. We make automation more accountable, reliable, and efficient."
tagline: "Infrastructure for Trustworthy Agent Automation | Columbia University"
description: "DAPLab at Columbia University develops full-stack infrastructure for trustworthy AI agent automation in real-world environments. We vertically integrate expertise across operating systems, data systems, AI, HCI, security, and enterprise workflows to build end-to-end agentic systems with real guarantees around reliability, observability, safety, and control."
author: "DAPLab, Columbia University"
keywords: "DAPLab, Columbia University, agent-based systems, AI, systems research, HCI, automation, large language models, trustworthy AI, cloud computing, RL, ML"
keywords: "DAPLab, Columbia University, trustworthy AI agents, agent automation, agentic systems, systems research, HCI, data systems, safety, reliability, observability, large language models, vertical integration"
og_image: "/daplab_logo.png"
baseurl: "" # Keep this blank for GitHub Pages root
url: "https://daplab.cs.columbia.edu" # Full site URL without trailing slash
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4 changes: 2 additions & 2 deletions _layouts/default.html
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Expand Up @@ -11,7 +11,7 @@
{% assign base_url = site.url | default: "https://daplab.cs.columbia.edu" %}
{% assign page_title = page.title %}
{% assign full_title = page_title | append: " | " | append: site_title %}
{% assign raw_desc = page.description | default: page.excerpt | default: site.description | default: "DAPLab at Columbia University advances research on agent-based automation across systems, AI, HCI, and operations research. We make automation more accountable, reliable, and efficient." %}
{% assign raw_desc = page.description | default: page.excerpt | default: site.description | default: "DAPLab at Columbia University develops full-stack infrastructure for trustworthy AI agent automation in real-world environments." %}
{% assign meta_description = raw_desc | strip_html | normalize_whitespace | truncate: 200 %}
{% assign meta_keywords = page.keywords | default: site.keywords | default: "DAPLab, Columbia University, agent-based systems, AI, systems research, HCI, automation" %}
{% assign rel_image = page.image | default: site.og_image | default: "/daplab_logo.png" | relative_url %}
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"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "Organization",
"name": "{{ site.title | default: 'DAPLab' }}",
"description": "{{ site.description | default: 'DAPLab at Columbia University advances research on agent-based automation across systems, AI, HCI, and operations research. We make automation more accountable, reliable, and efficient.' }}",
"description": "{{ site.description | default: 'DAPLab at Columbia University develops full-stack infrastructure for trustworthy AI agent automation in real-world environments.' }}",
"address": {
"@type": "PostalAddress",
"addressLocality": "New York, New York",
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30 changes: 28 additions & 2 deletions index.html
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</div>

<div class="col-sm-12 col-md-12 col-lg-8 my-4">
<h2 style="font-size:1.6rem; font-weight:700; margin-bottom:0.75rem; line-height:1.3;">Building the Foundations for Trustworthy Agent Automation</h2>

<p>
The Data, Agents, and Processes Lab (DAPLab) at Columbia University is building the foundations for a future where AI agents safely and reliably automate complex work. We bring together researchers in data systems, applied AI, operating systems, HCI, algorithms, and business to invent the infrastructure, algorithms, and design principles needed to deploy agents in the real world.
The Data, Agents, and Processes Lab (DAPLab) at Columbia University develops the systems, infrastructure, and interaction principles required for AI agents to safely and reliably automate real work.
</p>

<p>
Our work spans the full stack—from systems and training frameworks to human–agent interaction, process automation, and digital twins. We build open-source tools, collaborate closely with industry partners, and prototype agentic technologies that reimagine how work gets done. Based in the heart of New York City—home to some of the world’s largest enterprises—we are uniquely positioned to explore how agent automation transforms real organizational processes. DAPLab is a home for students, researchers, and partners who want to shape the next generation of AI-native systems.
We believe trustworthy agent automation cannot be solved at a single layer of the stack. DAPLab vertically integrates expertise across operating systems, data systems, AI, HCI, security, and enterprise workflows to build end-to-end agentic systems with real guarantees around reliability, observability, safety, and control.
</p>

<p>
Expand All @@ -23,6 +25,30 @@
</div>
</div>

<div class="row mb-4">
<div class="col-12">
<div class="card border-0" style="background: linear-gradient(135deg, #f8faff 0%, #f0f5ff 100%); border-radius: 1rem; padding: 2rem;">
<h3 style="font-size:1.25rem; font-weight:700; margin-bottom:1rem;">Why Vertical Integration Matters</h3>
<p style="margin-bottom:1rem;">AI agents fail across the entire stack: models hallucinate, retrieval misses critical context, execution environments lack isolation, workflows leak data, and human oversight breaks under scale. Fixing only one layer is not enough.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom:1.5rem;">DAPLab brings together researchers across systems, databases, AI, HCI, security, and organizational workflows because trustworthy automation requires coordinated advances across the full agent stack — from infrastructure and state management to evaluation, safety, and human interaction.</p>
<div style="display:flex; flex-wrap:wrap; gap:0.5rem; align-items:center; justify-content:center; font-size:0.85rem;">
<span style="background:#003262; color:#fff; padding:0.3rem 0.85rem; border-radius:999px; font-weight:600;">Human Interaction</span>
<span style="color:#666;">↑</span>
<span style="background:#005aaf; color:#fff; padding:0.3rem 0.85rem; border-radius:999px; font-weight:600;">Agent Reasoning + Learning</span>
<span style="color:#666;">↑</span>
<span style="background:#1a75c4; color:#fff; padding:0.3rem 0.85rem; border-radius:999px; font-weight:600;">Retrieval + Memory</span>
<span style="color:#666;">↑</span>
<span style="background:#3d8fd1; color:#fff; padding:0.3rem 0.85rem; border-radius:999px; font-weight:600;">Workflow + Policies</span>
<span style="color:#666;">↑</span>
<span style="background:#60a9de; color:#fff; padding:0.3rem 0.85rem; border-radius:999px; font-weight:600;">Data + Execution Systems</span>
<span style="color:#666;">↑</span>
<span style="background:#85c3eb; color:#1a1a1a; padding:0.3rem 0.85rem; border-radius:999px; font-weight:600;">OS + Infrastructure</span>
</div>
<p style="text-align:center; margin-top:0.75rem; font-size:0.8rem; color:#555; font-style:italic;">Trustworthy Automation Requires Integration Across Layers</p>
</div>
</div>
</div>

<div class="container-fluid">
<div class="row">
{% if site.ug_ms_application_url and site.ug_ms_application_url != '' %}
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33 changes: 32 additions & 1 deletion projects/index.html
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---
layout: default
title: Projects
description: Explore DAPLab projects and software releases.
description: DAPLab develops the infrastructure needed to make AI agents safe, reliable, and deployable in real-world organizations. Explore our research projects and software releases.
---

<style>
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}
</style>

<div class="mb-5">
<h1 style="font-size:2rem; font-weight:700; margin-bottom:0.75rem;">Reliable and Trustworthy Agent Automation</h1>
<p class="lead" style="color:#444; max-width:720px;">DAPLab develops the infrastructure needed to make AI agents safe, reliable, and deployable in real-world organizations. Our work spans four tightly connected research thrusts:</p>
<div class="row g-3 mt-1">
<div class="col-sm-6 col-lg-3">
<div style="border-left: 4px solid #003262; padding-left: 1rem;">
<div style="font-weight:700; color:#003262; margin-bottom:0.25rem;">Trustworthy Agent Execution</div>
<div style="font-size:0.875rem; color:#555;">Sandboxing, branching, checkpointing, isolation, and stateful execution environments for agents.</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="col-sm-6 col-lg-3">
<div style="border-left: 4px solid #005aaf; padding-left: 1rem;">
<div style="font-weight:700; color:#005aaf; margin-bottom:0.25rem;">Agent Safety and Governance</div>
<div style="font-size:0.875rem; color:#555;">Data flow control, policy enforcement, provenance tracking, and trustworthy automation constraints.</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="col-sm-6 col-lg-3">
<div style="border-left: 4px solid #1a75c4; padding-left: 1rem;">
<div style="font-weight:700; color:#1a75c4; margin-bottom:0.25rem;">Reliable Agent Evaluation</div>
<div style="font-size:0.875rem; color:#555;">Benchmarks, exploratory QA, simulation environments, and continuous evaluation infrastructure.</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="col-sm-6 col-lg-3">
<div style="border-left: 4px solid #3d8fd1; padding-left: 1rem;">
<div style="font-weight:700; color:#3d8fd1; margin-bottom:0.25rem;">Human-Agent Interaction and Usability</div>
<div style="font-size:0.875rem; color:#555;">Interaction design, human oversight interfaces, collaborative workflows, and usability research for humans working with and supervising AI agents.</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>

<div class="projects-header">
<h1 id="projects-page-title">Projects</h1>

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