In recent years computers have been able to perform tasks that were considered impossible for them until recently, such as driving a car, winning against world champions in a game of Go or trivia games. All of these breakthroughs are, in fact, the same breakthrough. They are all based on a combination of increasing computational power, vast amounts of information, and learning systems.

Dr. Shahaf's research goal is to deal with growing amounts of information. She designs algorithms that help people understand complex topics (news stories, scientific research, judgments or even books), connect the dots between different pieces of information, and gain new insights.

In addition, Dr. Shahaf often engages in research into the boundaries between what computers can do and what is still beyond the reach of possibilities. By analyzing digital traces of human activity on the web, she tries to give the computer tools to deal with "soft" aspects of human behavior. Such as creativity and humor. Algorithms developed by Judge in a New Yorker magazine cartoon competition have found surprising online trivia facts and helped people invent new and unconventional products.

About two years ago she returned to Israel after a doctorate at Carnegie Mellon University in Pennsylvania, a postdoctoral fellowship at Stanford University, and a brief stint at Microsoft.