GVU Center Brown Bag: Fostering Public Understanding of AI Through Education & Design

Abstract:

As artificial intelligence is integrated into our schools, homes, and workplaces, it becomes increasingly important to foster public understanding of AI. My research has explored two important facets of this issue—developing AI education initiatives and expanding existing AI systems to improve their ability to interact naturally with humans and foster understanding through interaction. Several design themes guide my work, including using embodied interaction, collaboration, and creative exploration to reduce intimidation and foster curiosity and learning. I will discuss my research investigating how to define AI literacy, and I will present several activities I have designed for informal learning spaces that can foster family learning about AI. I will also discuss how my research on developing co-creative AI systems can inform the development of more understandable AI systems. My talk will conclude with reflections on how education and system design can be leveraged to create more equitable, understandable AI in our everyday lives.

Speaker Bio:

Duri Long is a Research Scientist at Georgia Tech working in the Expressive Machinery Lab. She is a human-centered AI researcher interested in issues surrounding AI literacy and human-AI interaction. Duri's research looks to how humans interact and learn as a way of informing the design of public AI literacy interventions as well as the development of AI that can interact naturally and improvise creatively with people in complex social environments. She employs a variety of methodologies and theoretical frameworks in her research, drawing on the learning sciences, design research, and cognitive science. She has experience working with artists and museums around the country to develop co-creative, embodied exhibits and art installations involving AI and technology. Duri holds a PhD in Human Centered Computing from Georgia Tech and degrees in Computer Science and Dramatic Art from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Watch via BlueJeans Event: https://primetime.bluejeans.com/a2m/live-event/fytvvtcw 

Schedule of Brown Bag Speakers Fall 2021