Speaker:
Ben Shneiderman, Professor Emeritus, University of Maryland
Talk Title:
Human-Centered AI: Augment, Amplify, Empower, and Enhance Human Performance
Date and Location:
Wednesday, March 11, 2026
1:30–3 p.m.
BA 5166 (DGP seminar room) and online via Zoom
There is no registration required to attend this event in person. However, seating is limited, so arriving early is recommended. Online option is available through Zoom via this link: https://utoronto.zoom.us/j/85365233693
Abstract:
A new synthesis is emerging that integrates AI technologies with Human-Computer Interaction to produce Human-Centered AI (HCAI). Advocates of this new synthesis seek to amplify, augment, and enhance human abilities, so as to empower people, build their self-efficacy, support creativity, recognize responsibility, and promote social connections. Researchers, developers, business leaders, policy makers and others are expanding the technology-centered scope of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to include Human-Centered AI (HCAI) ways of thinking. This expansion from an algorithm-focused view, which embraces a human-centered perspective, guides evaluation by red team testing, expert reviews, and continuous improvement strategies. These strategies are especially important for Generative AI, which is impressively powerful, but alarmingly flawed. User interface design and governance strategies will be presented.
Biography:
Ben Shneiderman is an Emeritus Distinguished University Professor in the Department of Computer Science, Founding Director (1983-2000) of the Human-Computer Interaction Laboratory, and a Member of the UM Institute for Advanced Computer Studies (UMIACS) at the University of Maryland. He is a Fellow of the AAAS, ACM, IEEE, NAI, and the Visualization Academy and a Member of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering. He has received six honorary doctorates in recognition of his pioneering contributions to human-computer interaction and information visualization. His widely-used contributions include the clickable highlighted web-links, high-precision touchscreen keyboards for mobile devices, and tagging for photos. Shneiderman’s information visualization innovations include dynamic query sliders for Spotfire, development of treemaps for viewing hierarchical data, novel network visualizations for NodeXL, and event sequence analysis for electronic health records.
Ben is the lead author of Designing the User Interface: Strategies for Effective Human-Computer Interaction (6th ed., 2016). He co-authored Readings in Information Visualization: Using Vision to Think (1999) and Analyzing Social Media Networks with NodeXL (2nd edition, 2019). His book Leonardo’s Laptop (MIT Press) won the IEEE book award for Distinguished Literary Contribution. The New ABCs of Research: Achieving Breakthrough Collaborations (Oxford, 2016) describes how research can produce higher impacts. His book, Human-Centered AI, which was published by Oxford University Press in February 2022, was the winner of the Association of American Publishers award for Computer and Information Systems.