Society has reached a point of no return, one that leaves us completely reliant on omnipresent ICT-mediated communication. Mobile and sensor-rich portable devices connect millions of humans with Petabytes of data and numerous on-line services. However, tearing down the physical-digital barrier in a scalable fashion requires both radically novel algorithmic knowledge and in-depth understanding of humans and societies. We will deliver major theoretical advances in real-time intelligent information management of large datasets including online social networks, mobile devices and humans in physical space by delivering three functions: “alert”, by real-time location-aware knowledge acquisition, analysis and visualization; “response”, through on-demand composition and coordination of large teams; and effective “communication”, through recommendation and personalization.