Kimi W
- Research Program Mentor

PhD candidate at Carnegie Mellon University

Expertise

human-computer interaction, social media, tech ethics, AI ethics, privacy, UX design, computer science, social psychology, cognitive psychology

Bio

I'm a PhD candidate at Carnegie Mellon University specializing in AI ethics: As technology advances, it is imperative that we examine its impact on society. I'm specifically interested in the impacts AI has on racial and gender minorities, and how to mitigate its adverse effects. My work lies at the intersection of psychology, design, and computer science, and has been sponsored by Apple, Amazon, and Facebook. Outside of my research life, I teach yoga/pilates and hang out with George (my very fluffy and adorable cat!).

Project ideas

Project ideas are meant to help inspire student thinking about their own project. Students are in the driver seat of their research and are free to use any or none of the ideas shared by their mentors.

Finding Algorithmic Success on TikTok

TikTok has grown exponentially in popularity, but how do you become popular on the platform? What are the ethics of promoting one creator over another? This project can take many directions depending on the student's interests. - Students interested in social justice may write an exposé on discriminatory factors that promote creators with certain characteristics or privileges. - Students interested in computer science may explore basic code that underlies social media platforms. - Students interested in law&policy may write a report on how social media platforms should be governed.

Social Media & Mental Health

Social media seemingly governs our social lives... but might it also be impacting our cognitive functioning and emotional wellbeing? How? And perhaps more importantly, what can we do about it? This project can take many directions depending on the student's interests. - Students interested in design may create digital interventions to promote online wellbeing. - Students interested in psychology may run interviews or a survey to understand the impacts of social media on young people. - Students interested in law&policy may write a report on how tech companies or the government should regulate social media. - Students may write a review paper summarizing the latest research on social media and wellbeing - All students will be encouraged to pick a specific niche within the psychological impact of social media to help craft a more unique project.

Coding skills

HTML/CSS, python, javascript, R

Languages I know

Chinese (beginner), Japanese (intermediate)

Teaching experience

I've been working as a writing tutor since high school, and have helped students from a variety of levels (high school, undergraduate, graduate, and doctorate). I have an International Tutor Training Program Certification from the College Reading & Learning Association. In undergrad I was a TA for a few tech & society courses at Columbia University. I was also selected as a Computing Fellow for which I led computer science and data science workshops for non-STEM majors. At Carnegie Mellon University, I have served as a research mentor to several master's students.