Jodi Forlizzi
Professor and Associate Dean | Carnegie Mellon University
Pittsburgh, PA, UNITED STATES
Jodi Forlizzi is responsible for establishing design research as a legitimate form of research in human computer interaction.
Biography
Jodi Forlizzi is the Herbert A. Simon Professor in Computer Science and HCII, and the associate dean for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the School of Computer Science.
She is responsible for establishing design research as a legitimate form of research in HCI that is different from, but equally as important as, scientific and human science research. For the past 20 years, Forlizzi has advocated for design research in all forms, mentoring peers, colleagues, and students in its structure and execution, and today it is an important part of the CHI community.
Her current research interests include: designing educational games that are engaging and effective, designing robots, AVs, and other technology services that use AI and ML to adapt to people’s needs, and designing for healthcare. She is a member of the ACM CHI Academy and has been honored by the Walter Reed Army Medical Center for excellence in HRI design research. Forlizzi has consulted with Disney and General Motors to create innovative product-service systems.
Areas of Expertise (4)
Human Robot Interaction
Design Theory
Artificial Intelligence
Human Computer Interaction (Hci)
Media Appearances (4)
Jodi Forlizzi on Designing With AI
The Informed Life Podcast online
2024-08-11
Jodi Forlizzi is the Herbert A. Simon Professor of Human-Computer Interaction at the School of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University. Dr. Forlizzi has a distinguished career as a service designer, researcher, design leader, and academic. In this conversation, we discuss the changing role of design in the face of disruptive new technologies such as AI.
Carnegie Mellon University experts lent expertise to new U.S. artificial intelligence roadmap
Pittsburgh Business Times online
2024-05-23
As a talent hub for artificial intelligence and robotics, CMU offered unique expertise to ensure the U.S. can realize the transformative potential of AI while ensuring its safe and responsible use. Jodi Forlizzi, the Herbert A. Simon professor in the Human-Computer Interaction Institute and faculty lead for the Responsible AI Initiative through the university’s Block Center for Technology and Society, testified at the AI Insight Forum on AI Innovation on Oct. 24, 2023. Her statement, which is included in the report released this week, made recommendations to the senators to ensure that innovations in AI are sustainable, responsible and work for workers.
The threat of robot guards is not enough to stop people stealing
New Scientist online
2016-09-02
Team member Jodi Forlizzi at Carnegie Mellon University suggests that even dressing the robot up as a security guard, with dark blue suit and badge, would help. “Really subtle changes in how the robot looks or behaves can drastically influence how people interpret it,” she says.
Intelligent machines: Will we accept robot revolution?
BBC News online
2015-10-07
Jodi Forlizzi, from the US Human-Computer Interaction Institute, puts it down to human nature. "I think we create narratives and stories about everything in the world: people, robots, spirits, zombies, etcetera that set us in opposition to them," she told the BBC.
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Education (1)
Carnegie Mellon University: Ph.D., Design in Human-Computer Interaction 2007
Links (3)
Articles (3)
“I Want to Send a Message to My Friend”: Exploring the Shift of Agency to Older Adults in HRI
International Journal of Social Robotics2024 Communication among some older adults is affected by cognitive and mobility impairments. This increases isolation, particularly for those residing in care homes, and leads to accelerated cognitive decline. Previous research has leveraged assistive robots to promote recreational routines and communication among older adults, with the robot leading the interaction. However, older adults could have more agency in the interaction, as robots could extend elders’ intentions and needs. Therefore, we explored an approach whereby the robot’s agency is shifted to the older adults who lead the interaction by commanding a robot’s actions using interactive physical blocks (tangible blocks). We conducted sessions with 22 care home dwellers where they could exchange messages and objects using the robot.
Expanding Pragmatism with Symbolic Interactionism: Recounting the Story of Two Frameworks
Design Issues2023 This article describes the story of pragmatism and its transformation into symbolic interactionism at Carnegie Mellon University and Aalto University. In both universities, design researchers were interested in user experience in interactive systems. John Dewey's pragmatism taught them to study how experience sometimes transforms into an experience and occasionally into stories. Herbert Blumer's interactionism had its roots in Chicago School sociology, and it developed in association with pragmatism. His interactionism gave these researchers tools to study Dewey's concepts empirically. We show in the article how this theoretical connection came about after 2000 and how it has shaped research programs in these two communities since then. We also discuss the relevance of pragmatism and interactionism in our current technological landscape, dominated by social media and artificial intelligence.
Responding to the Indeterminacy of Doctoral Research in Design
She Ji: The Journal of Design, Economics, and Innovation2023 The Future of Design Education working group on doctoral education included doctoral supervisors from nine programs around the world and addressed the indeterminacy of standards for the PhD in Design. Internationally, “contributions to knowledge” under the PhD degree title range from evidence-based investigations documented in a dissertation to personal reflections on making artifacts. In some programs, quantitative and qualitative research methods are taught; in others, there is no instruction in methods. The working group suggested that reflection on one’s own creative production is the role of the professional master’s degree and recommended standards for two doctoral programs—the PhD and the Doctor of Design (DDes). The group defined the PhD as addressing unresolved problems with the goal of generalizable knowledge or theory for the field.
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