Abstract

The recent successes of AI and ML are now accompanied with an ever increasing expectation of using those methods to support human goals in a variety of contexts. Intelligent solutions are being explored for complex techno-social problems: from technology for improving health outcomes; computational methods for increasing energy efficiency; to AI systems that advance human learning. Not surprisingly, the questions related to relationships between intelligent systems and humans have taken center stage in intelligent systems research. In my talk, I will outline a scientific vision for the design and analysis of collaborative human-AI systems. I will situate the discussion in various intelligent systems that I have worked on in the past few years interactive task learning for general-purpose robots, intelligent planning for sustainable transport, and intelligent scaffolds for health and well being. I will summarize my approach to building such systems with a focus on the challenges of evaluating collaborative human-AI technology. I will conclude the talk with lessons learned and an outlook for this interdisciplinary agenda.

Biography

Shiwali Mohan is an AI systems researcher at Xerox PARC. She studies how to design and evaluate human-aware AI systems - systems that model and reason about their human collaborators. Her research is interdisciplinary and often leverages insights about human behavior from cognitive science, psychology, linguistics, and economics. She has designed intelligent collaborative agents for a variety of application domains including general-purpose robots, preventive healthcare and wellbeing, sustainable transportation, and augmented reality. She is particularly motivated to build intelligent collaborative technology for social good and public welfare. Shiwali was born and brought up in northern India. She has a bachelor's in instrumentation and control engineering from Delhi University. Shiwali received her Ph.D. in computer science in 2015 from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor where she was part of the Soar cognitive architecture group. She joined Xerox PARC in 2014 as a postdoc and is currently a Senior Member of Research Staff.