2025 April
Description: We invite researchers, designers, practitioners, and provocateurs to explore what it means to understand and shape the impact of Generative AI (GenAI) on human cognition. GenAI radically widens the scope and capability of automation for work, learning, and creativity. While impactful, it also changes workflows and the quality of thinking involved, raising questions about its effects on cognition, including critical thinking and learning. Yet, GenAI also offers opportunities for designing tools for thought that protect and augment cognition. Such systems provoke critical thinking, provide personalized tutoring, or enable novel ways of sensemaking, among other approaches. How does GenAI change workflows and human cognition? What are opportunities and challenges for designing GenAI systems that protect and augment human cognition? Which theories, perspectives, and methods are relevant? This workshop aims to develop a multidisciplinary community interested in exploring these questions to protect against the erosion, and fuel the augmentation, of human cognition using GenAI.
Organizers:
- Lev Tankelevitch, Microsoft Research
- Elena L. Glassman, Harvard University
- Jessica He, IBM Research
- Majeed Kazemitabaar, University of Toronto, Toronto
- Aniket Kittur, Carnegie Mellon University
- Mina Lee, University of Chicago
- Srishti Palani, Tableau Research
- Advait Sarkar, Microsoft Research
- Gonzalo Ramos, Microsoft Research
- Yvonne Rogers, University College London
- Hariharan Subramonyam, Stanford University
People
The Tools for Thought team is interdisciplinary, mixing experts in social science, computer science, engineering, and design. Our workstreams reflect this mix, combining depth in user research, cutting-edge technology, and new user experiences.
Abigail Sellen
Distinguished Scientist and Lab Director
Advait Sarkar
Senior Researcher
Britta Burlin
Principal Design Manager
Gonzalo Ramos
Principal Researcher
Ian Drosos
Researcher
Jack Williams
Senior Researcher
Leon Reicherts
Researcher
Lev Tankelevitch
Senior Researcher
Martin Grayson
Principal Research Software Development Engineer
Pratik Ghosh
Senior Research Designer
Richard Banks
Principal Design Manager
Sean Rintel
Senior Principal Research Manager