Anna Kawakami

Date: November 17th, 2025  [Recording: (passcode: 2b*63q9y)] [Slides]

Time: 15:00 (CET) 

Title:  Designing Positive AI Futures for Socially Complex Work With and For Workers 

Abstract: AI systems are increasingly deployed to assist socially complex forms of work (e.g., involving emotional, care-oriented, connective labor). These forms of work are amongst those projected to be the most “automation proof,” yet they remain chronically undervalued within organizations and in society more broadly. AI deployments in occupations grounded in socially complex work have often perpetuated these tendencies, harming workers’ performance and wellbeing. In my research, I collaborate closely with workers and organizations to design toward a more positive future for AI-augmented work—one where AI deployments meaningfully augment and enhance worker capabilities, rather than diminish them. I take a social ecological approach, identifying worker-, organization-, and society-level challenges, and I identify opportunities for technology and policy interventions to address these challenges. My research so far explores what effective interventions could look like in the design of training interfaces for AI-assisted decision-making, deliberation-based toolkits for AI adoption decisions, and alternative workflows for worker-centered AI measurement approaches. 

About the Presenter

Anna Kawakami is a PhD candidate at Carnegie Mellon University HCII, where she explores how to design towards more positive futures for AI-augmented work. In her research, she forms close partnerships with organizations and workers to (i) better understand why past AI deployments have failed to meaningfully augment worker abilities and (ii) design novel approaches to enable workers to shape AI design, evaluation, and governance decisions that would otherwise remain inaccessible to them. Her research has impacted policy decisions and guidelines around the use of AI for high-stakes decision-making at the national and state level, and has been widely disseminated through 20+ news articles including by AP News, PBS, and the ACLU. Her work has been recognized by the NSF GRFP, the K&L Gates Presidential Scholarship, and Best Paper Awards at CHI and SaTML.

Homepage: https://annakawakami.com/