Christopher Dancy associate professor in the Colleges of Information Sciences and Technology (IST), Engineering and the Liberal Arts, will present "Critically Considering the Human and AI in Human-AI Interaction” on Sept. 10. The lecture is part of the IST Research Talks series presented by the College of IST.

Dancy explores how artificial intelligence (AI) systems shape and reflect ideas about people, identity and Blackness, including the technology and infrastructure that make these systems possible. He uses a multi-level framework to examine how standard understandings of the Human shape AI engineering processes and what human-AI interactions with these systems mean for two main areas of his research: Black digital archives and disaster recovery. He concludes by considering paths toward liberatory futures that are anchored in a Black radical tradition.

Christopher L. Dancy is an associate professor of computer science and engineering, human-centered computing and social informatics and African American Studies at Penn State. He is the founder and director of the Human in Computing and Cognition Lab and the Liberatory Tech Project, and co-director of the Center for Black Digital Research/#DigBlk (CBDR).

At CBDR, Dancy leads an interdisciplinary team exploring the intersections of Black digital archives and AI systems in value-driven ways. His research focuses on the intersection of human behavior, computational systems and Blackness, with the goal of understanding the human experience within computing systems and engineering processes. He draws on computational cognitive science, Black studies and artificial intelligence to inform his research and teaching.

Dancy is a recipient of the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER Award, which supports his work to advance AI and computing toward more socioculturally competent AI systems. He is also co-lead of the Computational Representation of Human Decision Processes research thrust for the NSF-funded AI Institute for Societal Decision-Making, where he studies how racialization and anti-Blackness affect decision-making during disaster recovery. As a first-generation college graduate, Dancy brings his own experience to his research and educational goals in higher education.

The IST Research Talks series highlights the interdisciplinary work of faculty and scholars in the College of Information Sciences and Technology. Check out past lectures and upcoming events at IST Research Talks.

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