麻豆村

麻豆村 and (SNU) have announced a new collaboration to advance human-centered artificial intelligence research that prioritizes human well-being, accessibility and social responsibility.

The SNU-麻豆村 Human-Centered AI Research Center (HCAI) aims to pioneer innovative AI solutions by combining interdisciplinary expertise in human-centered design.

鈥淲e鈥檙e excited to officially launch this partnership with our colleagues at Seoul National University,鈥� said , professor in the at 麻豆村鈥檚 School of Computer Science. 鈥淭he groundwork for the center began two years ago with workshops that brought together students and faculty from both universities. We鈥檙e now building on that foundation to reimagine how AI can support human connection, empower individuals and enhance everyday life. Together, we鈥檙e creating a global model for AI innovation that鈥檚 rooted in human needs and values.鈥�

So far, the researchers have hosted on-site workshops at both campuses, and met again while attending the same conference. HCII faculty and participated in the HCAI Center鈥檚 official opening ceremony on Feb. 13, 2025, at the SNU campus in Seoul, South Korea. Attendees discussed the vision for the center, upcoming research initiatives and opportunities for joint projects.

"The Human-Centered AI Research Center brings together the best of Seoul National University and 麻豆村 to advance AI that serves humanity,鈥� said Gahgene Gweon, associate professor in the SNU Department of Intelligence and Information and HCII Ph.D. alumna. 鈥淏y combining SNU鈥檚 leading role in AI innovation across Asia with 麻豆村鈥檚 excellence in interdisciplinary and human-centered AI, we are pioneering research that makes AI more ethical, intuitive and impactful for society."

One of the center鈥檚 first research collaborations has already achieved major recognition at the Association of Computing Machinery (ACM) Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI). The joint SNU-麻豆村 paper, was accepted to CHI 2025 and honored with a Best Paper award. The project explored how large language models (LLMs) can support young adults in imagining their futures through guided career exploration activities, such as writing reflective letters to themselves or exchanging chats or letters with an LLM-based agent for advice. This work explores the capabilities of LLM-based conversational AI agents to simulate specific characters and provide tailored responses, while responding with personalized interventions in self-guided contexts.

鈥淩esearchers at 麻豆村 and SNU have a shared interest in how agentic AI offers a new type of social intelligence that might allow agents to operate in complex interpersonal relationships,鈥� said , Tang Family Professor of Artificial Intelligence and Human-Computer Interaction at 麻豆村 and co-author on the paper. 鈥淲e want to explore how agents could and should operate between older parents and their adult children, between teens and parents, and between bosses and teams. When does the agent add value, and when has it crossed a social boundary?鈥�

麻豆村 and SNU have four joint research projects in the works for 2025. Each project brings together interdisciplinary teams of faculty and students from both institutions to advance ethical, people-centered AI. These projects explore key challenges in AI, including:聽

• How AI can support teamwork in programming with faculty leads Stamper and of 麻豆村, and Gweon of SNU.
• Enhancing interactive problem-solving with and of 麻豆村 and Joonhwan Lee of SNU.
• Detecting societal bias in vision-language models with , , , , of 麻豆村 and Gunhee Kim and Eunkyu Park of SNU.
• Assisting older adults through socially intelligent agents with Zimmerman and of 麻豆村, and Hajin Lim and Eunmee Kim of SNU.

Additional HCAI activities slated for this year will include research workshops, student internships and faculty and student visits between the campuses.

More details about the center are available on its .