Kimi W
- Research Program Mentor

PhD at Carnegie Mellon University

Expertise

human-computer interaction, social media, tech ethics, AI ethics, privacy, UX design, computer science, social psychology, cognitive psychology

Bio

I'm an AI Ethics Researcher (PhD) currently working at a large tech company (FAANG) to support user safety. Operationally, I evaluate the safety of AI products and help craft AI product policy. I earned my PhD from Carnegie Mellon University where I led research on the ethics and design of LLM chabots. I continue to be engaged with AI research outside of work by consulting with non-profits. I have been working with high schoolers for over 5 years on independent research projects. I'm specifically interested in the impacts AI has on marginalized communities, and how to mitigate its adverse effects. With the advent of LLMs and chatbots, I have also been researching the utility and ethics of AI chatbots for mental health care, as well as the cognitive impacts of AI use. My work lies at the intersection of psychology, design, social sciences, and computer science, and has been sponsored by Apple, Amazon, Facebook, and Google. My specialties include: - AI and design / user experience - Ethics of AI - Cognitive impacts of AI use - AI and job displacement - AI and mental health - AI and creativity / AI and the arts - Social media and mental health

Project ideas

Project ideas are meant to help inspire student thinking about their own project. Students are in the driver seat of their research and are free to use any or none of the ideas shared by their mentors.

Impacts of AI on Creative Writing

AI has great promise to improve writing workflows, but is it also compromising our creative cognition? This project can take many directions depending on the student's interests. - Students interested in design or business may research how to create an AI tool that supports creativity, rather than hinder it. - Students interested in psychology or neuroscience may research the cognitive impacts of heavy AI use. - Students interested in societal implications may research how best to incorporate AI into school and the workplace, where creativity is paramount. - Students interested in computer science may create a web tool that utilizes AI to support creative writing.

Social Media & Mental Health

Social media seemingly governs our social lives... but might it also be impacting our cognitive functioning and emotional wellbeing? How? And perhaps more importantly, what can we do about it? This project can take many directions depending on the student's interests. - Students interested in design may create digital interventions to promote online wellbeing. - Students interested in psychology may run interviews or a survey to understand the impacts of social media on young people. - Students interested in law&policy may write a report on how tech companies or the government should regulate social media. - Students may write a review paper summarizing the latest research on social media and wellbeing - All students will be encouraged to pick a specific niche within the psychological impact of social media to help craft a more unique project.

Coding skills

HTML/CSS, python, javascript, R

Languages I know

Chinese (beginner), Japanese (intermediate)

Teaching experience

I've been working as a writing tutor since high school, and have helped students from a variety of levels (high school, undergraduate, graduate, and doctorate). I have an International Tutor Training Program Certification from the College Reading & Learning Association. In undergrad I was a TA for a few tech & society courses at Columbia University. I was also selected as a Computing Fellow for which I led computer science and data science workshops for non-STEM majors. At Carnegie Mellon University, I served as a research mentor to several master's students. I have been working with high schoolers on independent research for 5 years.