Abstract
Since the early 2020s there has been a call to arms for making AI systems more human-centred (HCAI). By this is meant widening the AI agenda from being largely technical in its aspirations to one that is concerned with humans and, more generally, societal needs. A core part of this is a move towards responsible AI, that is reliable, competent and trustworthy. My vision is more radical; exploring how human-centred AI can empower us to achieve ever greater feats by developing new AI ‘supertools’ – that don’t just make our tasks more efficient but expand our minds, daring us to think differently, while at the same time helping us break through the barriers that often stall or prevent creative leaps. An overarching goal is to design AI that augments what we do, by suggesting, prompting, conjuring up, counter-arguing, nudging, probing and even acting as a sparring partner or a form of super-ego. In my lecture, I will describe my current research which attempts to open up people’s minds more through designing technology with them in mind.
Bio
Yvonne Rogers is the director of the Interaction Centre at UCL (UCLIC), deputy head of department for Computer Science and a Professor of Interaction Design. Her research is in the areas of human-computer interaction, ubiquitous computing and interaction design. Her current research focuses on how human behaviour is being impacted and augmented through the design and adoption of new technologies. She is particularly interested in how human-centred applications of AI can be developed that benefit society. Central to her work is a critical stance towards how visions, theories and frameworks shape the fields of HCI, cognitive science and AI. She been instrumental in promulgating new theories (e.g., external cognition), alternative methodologies (e.g., in the wild studies) and far-reaching research agendas (e.g., “Being Human” manifesto) and has pioneered an approach to innovation and ubiquitous learning. In 2022 she was awarded the ACM SIGCHI Lifetime Achievement Research Award and was elected as a fellow of the Royal Society. Other awards include the Royal Society Robin Milner Medal (2022) and a MRC Suffrage and Science Award (2020) for being one of the leading women in 'mathematics & computing’. She was also awarded a chair of excellence from the University of Bremen (2020-2025). This year she was elected as an international member of the American National Academy of Engineering.
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This talk is being recorded. If you do not wish to be seen in the recording, please avoid sitting in the front three rows of seats in the lecture theatre. Any questions asked will also be included in the recording. The recording will be made available on the Department’s webpage
