Jessica Bo (photo: supplied)

Driven by a vision of ethical and dependable technology, Jessica Bo is advancing AI systems that are as transparent as they are powerful, to safely serve people in daily life.

Bo, a second-year computer science PhD student in the Computational Social Science Lab, has been awarded a prestigious 2025 Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship.

The scholarship provides $150,000 over three years to students who demonstrate leadership and a high standard of scholarly achievement in graduate studies at Canadian universities.

Bo's research focuses on improving how people understand and rely on AI, especially as generative tools like ChatGPT become more common. These systems can produce misleading or incorrect information, which may lead to over-reliance and poor decision-making. To address this, Bo is developing strategies to help users better understand and appropriately trust AI systems. Her work includes studying how people interact with AI and designing interventions to improve those interactions. She also explores ways to help users form accurate mental models of how AI works. She is supervised by Associate Professor Ashton Anderson.

“It's both exciting and challenging to contribute to the safe and responsible use of AI in everyday life,” says Bo.

“Receiving the Vanier is incredibly meaningful and knowing that my work is supported is deeply validating,” she adds. “I’m excited to focus my PhD research on improving how we design and evaluate AI tools — especially as they become integral to decision-making that impacts people.”