About

Jodi Forlizzi is the Herbert A. Simon Professor in Computer Science and Human-Computer Interaction (HCII) at Carnegie Mellon University, where she also holds a courtesy appointment in the School of Design. She serves as the Geschke Director and is responsible for establishing design research as a legitimate and distinct form of research within the field of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), emphasizing its importance alongside scientific and human science research. Over the past 20 years, Jodi has been a strong advocate for design research, mentoring peers, colleagues, and students in its structure and execution, contributing to its recognition and integration within the CHI community. Her current research interests include designing engaging and effective educational games, developing robots, autonomous vehicles, and other technology services that utilize AI and machine learning to adapt to user needs, and designing for healthcare applications. She is a member of the ACM CHI Academy and has been honored by the Walter Reed Army Medical Center for excellence in human-robot interaction (HRI) design research. Additionally, Jodi has consulted with organizations such as Disney and General Motors to create innovative product-service systems.

Research topics

• Computer Science
• Computer Security
• Political Science
• Business
• Public relations
• Economics
• Artificial Intelligence
• Management
• Marketing
• Data science
• Engineering
• Internet privacy
• Actuarial science
• Process management
• World Wide Web
• Social psychology
• Human–computer interaction
• Nursing
• Knowledge management
• Medicine
• Environmental health
• Psychology

Selected publications

• Situated, Dynamic, and Subjective: Envisioning the Design of Theory-of-Mind-Enabled Everyday AI with Industry Practitioners

  arXiv (Cornell University) · 2026-02-11

  preprintOpen access

  Theory of Mind (ToM) -- the ability to infer what others are thinking (e.g., intentions) from observable cues -- is traditionally considered fundamental to human social interactions. This has sparked growing efforts in building and benchmarking AI's ToM capability, yet little is known about how such capability could translate into the design and experience of everyday user-facing AI products and services. We conducted 13 co-design sessions with 26 U.S.-based AI practitioners to envision, reflect, and distill design recommendations for ToM-enabled everyday AI products and services that are both future-looking and grounded in the realities of AI design and development practices. Analysis revealed three interrelated design recommendations: ToM-enabled AI should 1) be situated in the social context that shape users' mental states, 2) be responsive to the dynamic nature of mental states, and 3) be attuned to subjective individual differences. We surface design tensions within each recommendation that reveal a broader gap between practitioners' envisioned futures of ToM-enabled AI and the realities of current AI design and development practices. These findings point toward the need to move beyond static, inference-driven approach to ToM and toward designing ToM as a pervasive capability that supports continuous human-AI interaction loops.

  PublisherDOI

• Values Across Contexts: Understanding How Older Adults Enact What Matters Through Technology

  2026-04-13 · 1 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  As populations age and technology becomes more pervasive, understanding the alignment between older adults’ values and technology design is paramount. More research is needed to understand how older adults’ living contexts shape their values and the use of technology. To address this, through a multi-context study, we explored how values differ for older adults and how their context of living might influence the adoption and use of technology. We conducted 22 semi-structured interviews with older adults in various residential contexts. We show that older adults tend to prioritize the same core values across living contexts, yet how they express values in each context differs. Technology can amplify or inhibit key values. We describe implications for context-responsive technology and design for continuity, to allow older adults to continually uphold important values through technology use.

  PublisherDOI

• Promoting Critical Thinking With Domain-Specific Generative AI Provocations

  ArXiv.org · 2026-03-20

  articleOpen access

  The evidence on the effects of generative AI (GenAI) on critical thinking is mixed, with studies suggesting both potential harms and benefits depending on its implementation. Some argue that AI-driven provocations, such as questions asking for human clarification and justification, are beneficial for eliciting critical thinking. Drawing on our experience designing and evaluating two GenAI-powered tools for knowledge work, ArtBot in the domain of fine art interpretation and Privy in the domain of AI privacy, we reflect on how design decisions shape the form and effectiveness of such provocations. Our observations and user feedback suggest that domain-specific provocations, implemented through productive friction and interactions that depend on user contribution, can meaningfully support critical thinking. We present participant experiences with both prototypes and discuss how supporting critical thinking may require moving beyond static provocations toward approaches that adapt to user preferences and levels of expertise.

  PublisherOA PDF

• Promoting Critical Thinking With Domain-Specific Generative AI Provocations

  arXiv (Cornell University) · 2026-03-20

  preprintOpen access

  The evidence on the effects of generative AI (GenAI) on critical thinking is mixed, with studies suggesting both potential harms and benefits depending on its implementation. Some argue that AI-driven provocations, such as questions asking for human clarification and justification, are beneficial for eliciting critical thinking. Drawing on our experience designing and evaluating two GenAI-powered tools for knowledge work, ArtBot in the domain of fine art interpretation and Privy in the domain of AI privacy, we reflect on how design decisions shape the form and effectiveness of such provocations. Our observations and user feedback suggest that domain-specific provocations, implemented through productive friction and interactions that depend on user contribution, can meaningfully support critical thinking. We present participant experiences with both prototypes and discuss how supporting critical thinking may require moving beyond static provocations toward approaches that adapt to user preferences and levels of expertise.

  PublisherDOI

• Privy: Envisioning and Mitigating Privacy Risks for Consumer-facing AI Product Concepts

  2026-04-13

  articleOpen access

  AI creates and exacerbates privacy risks, yet practitioners lack effective resources to identify and mitigate these risks. We present Privy, a tool that guides practitioners without privacy expertise through structured privacy impact assessments to: (i) identify relevant risks in novel AI product concepts, and (ii) propose appropriate mitigations. Privy was shaped by a formative study with 11 practitioners, which informed two versions — one LLM-powered, the other template-based. We evaluated these two versions of Privy through a between-subjects, controlled study with 24 separate practitioners, whose assessments were reviewed by 13 independent privacy experts. Results show that Privy helps practitioners produce privacy assessments that experts deemed high quality: practitioners identified relevant risks and proposed appropriate mitigation strategies. These effects were augmented in the LLM-powered version. Practitioners themselves rated Privy as being useful and usable, and their feedback illustrates how it helps overcome long-standing awareness, motivation, and ability barriers in privacy work.

  PublisherDOI

• Sometimes You Need Facts, and Sometimes a Hug: Understanding Older Adults' Preferences for Explanations in LLM-Based Conversational AI Systems

  2026-04-13 · 1 citations

  articleOpen access

  Designing Conversational AI systems to support older adults requires these systems to explain their behavior in ways that align with older adults’ preferences and context. While prior work has emphasized the importance of AI explainability in building user trust, relatively little is known about older adults’ requirements and perceptions of AI-generated explanations. To address this gap, we conducted an exploratory Speed Dating study with 23 older adults to understand their responses to contextually grounded AI explanations. Our findings reveal the highly context-dependent nature of explanations, shaped by conversational cues such as the content, tone, and framing of explanation. We also found that explanations are often interpreted as interactive, multi-turn conversational exchanges with the AI, and can be helpful in calibrating urgency, guiding actionability, and providing insights into older adults’ daily lives for their family members. We conclude by discussing implications for designing context-sensitive and personalized explanations in Conversational AI systems.

  PublisherDOI

• Avoiding a bridge to nowhere: managing the transfer of agency when an older adult can no longer use assistive AI

  AI and Ethics · 2026-02-01

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  We define an agency transfer point as the point at which a person is no longer capable of performing an important task or function such that responsibility for that task or function must be transferred to another person. Because many older adults worry that if they experience cognitive decline they might lose their ability to function in ways they value, there’s growing interest in the possibility that AI systems might help older adults maintain their independence. This paper identifies several strategies through which AI systems might help older adults avert agency transfer points caused by cognitive decline. Although safe and effective assistive AI systems for older adults do not yet exist, it is important to proactively identify and address problems likely to result from their development and deployment. Importantly, although AI support might avert agency transfer points, there has been little recognition of the prospect that if individuals experience further declines in cognitive capacity, agency transfer points will reemerge. We therefore examine the ethical implications of alternative governance strategies and social policies for coping with the reemergence of agency transfer points for older adults who rely on AI systems to remain independent. This includes consideration of a requirement for contingency planning on the part of older adults as a condition of using such systems. We also consider the role that conversational AI systems might play in the process of contingency planning and after responsibility for some aspects of an older adult’s care has been transferred to another person.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Operationalizing Self-Perceptions of Aging Using Reflection Probe and SPA Design Cards with HCI Practitioners

  2026-04-13

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  Self-Perceptions of Aging (SPA) are associated with older adults’ emotional, cognitive, and physical wellbeing and can be influenced through targeted interventions, yet SPA is rarely operationalized as concrete design material in HCI. This paper presents a material-driven method for using SPA as a lens for wellbeing-oriented design with HCI practitioners who are not themselves older adults. Building on formative studies with 24 older adults, we developed three interconnected SPA materials: an AI-mediated self-reflection tool grounded in Indian scripture texts, empathic reflection cards combining older adults’ quotes with emotion labels and corresponding guidance, and SPA design aspiration cards distilled from a systematic review of SPA intervention effects. These materials were used with 10 HCI practitioners in a structured session progressing from personal reflection to interpreting older adults’ situations. Analysis of discussions and follow-up feedback shows how SPA can be brought more concretely into HCI design practice.

  PublisherDOI

• Toolset Action Coding System: A Generalized Method for Tool Measurement

  2026-04-13 · 1 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  The evolution of artist toolsets has created opportunities for new media and industrial growth. As these tools evolve, clear advantages of digital media emerge. Still, many digital toolsets grow further apart from their traditional predecessors, developing highly technical workflows and unfamiliar interfaces. With no standard language or classification system across artist toolsets, the measurement of these various paradigms becomes convoluted. Moreover, it is unclear how augmenting production pipelines affects the practitioner workflow within a professional studio. This paper presents a generalized approach to measuring artist tools through data collection, field studies, interviews, and an iterative refinement process. We define a broad category of creative practice known as the ‘sculptural process’ and introduce a taxonomy for a technical coding system. Our findings indicate an obstruction of artist processes for professionals in digital media, particularly 3D, exposing a significant gap between traditional and digital media. These measurements create a foundation to reinforce artist-driven design in human-computer interaction.

  PublisherDOI

• Can You Keep a Secret? Exploring AI for Care Coordination in Cognitive Decline

  Maryland Shared Open Access Repository (USMAI Consortium) · 2025-12-14

  articleOpen access

  The increasing number of older adults who experience cognitive decline places a burden on informal caregivers, whose support with tasks of daily living determines whether older adults can remain in their homes. To explore how agents might help lower-SES older adults to age-in-place, we interviewed ten pairs of older adults experiencing cognitive decline and their informal caregivers. We explored how they coordinate care, manage burdens, and sustain autonomy and privacy. Older adults exercised control by delegating tasks to specific caregivers, keeping information about all the care they received from their adult children. Many abandoned some tasks of daily living, lowering their quality of life to ease caregiver burden. One effective strategy, piggybacking, uses spontaneous overlaps in errands to get more work done with less caregiver effort. This raises the questions: (i) Can agents help with piggyback coordination? (ii) Would it keep older adults in their homes longer, while not increasing caregiver burden?

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Recent grants

• Upskilling Workers and Re-designing Workplaces for the Future of Automation in the Hospitality Industry

  NSF · $1.5M · 2021–2026

Frequent coauthors

• John Zimmerman

  Carnegie Mellon University

  56 shared

• Scott E. Hudson

  Carnegie Mellon University

  26 shared

• Siddhartha S Srinivasa

  24 shared

• Sara Kiesler

  Carnegie Mellon University

  24 shared

• Francine Gemperle

  24 shared

• Carl DiSalvo

  Georgia Institute of Technology

  20 shared

• Aaron Steinfeld

  Carnegie Mellon University

  20 shared

• Min Kyung Lee

  Dartmouth College

  16 shared

Awards & honors

• Honored by the Walter Reed Army Medical Center for excellenc…
• Member of the ACM CHI Academy