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Marianna Apidianaki

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Marianna Apidianaki is a CNRS researcher who recently joined LIS (Laboratoire d’Informatique et Systèmes) in Marseille. Her research is  focused on computational linguistics and natural language processing (NLP), specifically in the area of semantics.
Marianna previously worked as a senior researcher in the Computer and Information Science Department at the University of Pennsylvania (2021-2025) and in the Language Technology lab at the University of Helsinki (2019-2021). From 2011 until 2019, Marianna worked as a CNRS researcher in the LIMSI lab (currently LISN) at University Paris-Saclay. She completed her PhD at University Paris 7 and held post-doc positions at Dublin City University (Ireland), Ghent University (Belgium), and INRIA.
Marianna is interested in both theoretical and application-oriented aspects of natural language semantics and commonsense reasoning, and in cognitive aspects of language learning. One of her recent research topics is the study of semantic and perceptual information encoded in the representations of Large Language Models. Marianna has served as Vice-President and President of SIGLEX (the ACL Special Interest Group on the Lexicon); as Program Chair, Area Chair and Senior Area Chair for international conferences and workshops in the field of computational linguistics and NLP.

Self recognition in apes and dogs

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The famous self-recognition test developed by psychologist Gordon Gallup Jr. tests the ability of an animal to recognize itself. The standard protocol involves a red spot on the forehead of the animal and a mirror for the animal to look up. This implementation is appropriate for animals with a strong visual sense, e.g. humans or non-human primates. A generalized self-recognition protocol should respects the cognitive specificity of each species, such as primates (visual dominance) or canids (olfactory dominance).

Image screen-captured from the video
Scientific Speciesism: The Myth of Human Exceptionalism (2026)
with Christine Webb