I'm Stephen Yang, a communication, human-computer interaction (HCI) and user experience (UX) researcher studying how new forms of AI-powered communication technologies, ranging from writing assistants to conversational agents, reshape the ways we foster trust and relationships in our personal, professional, and civic lives.
I'm currently a research intern at the Social Media Collective at Microsoft Research New England. I'm applying to PhD programs in Communication and Information Science in the 2022-2023 application cycle.
For my (future) PhD research, I plan to study the ways content creators establish their authenticity and expertise as they adopt AI-powered tools for audience engagement and content generation. I'm curious about the parallels and differences of the practices across journalists, domain experts, influencers, activists, social media professionals, ordinary people, and communities on the margins. This research agenda is driven by my interest in the shifting nature of knowledge, creative, and relational labor in an AI-infused media landscape. My goal is to reimagine a more inclusive, equitable, and trustworthy media ecosystem.
In the past, I have explored how people foster trust and relationships through their use and appropriation of communication technologies across a variety of sociotechnical contexts, from AI development, urban design, clinical decision-making, youth c, to networked activism.
Trained in communication and human-computer interaction, I have 4 years of experience in qualitative research; I have facilitated 100+ in-depth interviews, hosted 5 co-design workshops, and conducted ethnographic fieldwork in New York City, upstate New York, and Taipei, Taiwan.
In May 2022, I received my Bachelor's degree in rom Cornell University, graduating as the Degree Marshal of the Cornell Ann S. Bowers College of Computing and Information Science and a Merrill Presidential Scholar.
I'm currently a research intern at the Social Media Collective at Microsoft Research New England. I'm applying to PhD programs in Communication and Information Science in the 2022-2023 application cycle.
For my (future) PhD research, I plan to study the ways content creators establish their authenticity and expertise as they adopt AI-powered tools for audience engagement and content generation. I'm curious about the parallels and differences of the practices across journalists, domain experts, influencers, activists, social media professionals, ordinary people, and communities on the margins. This research agenda is driven by my interest in the shifting nature of knowledge, creative, and relational labor in an AI-infused media landscape. My goal is to reimagine a more inclusive, equitable, and trustworthy media ecosystem.
In the past, I have explored how people foster trust and relationships through their use and appropriation of communication technologies across a variety of sociotechnical contexts, from AI development, urban design, clinical decision-making, youth c, to networked activism.
Trained in communication and human-computer interaction, I have 4 years of experience in qualitative research; I have facilitated 100+ in-depth interviews, hosted 5 co-design workshops, and conducted ethnographic fieldwork in New York City, upstate New York, and Taipei, Taiwan.
In May 2022, I received my Bachelor's degree in rom Cornell University, graduating as the Degree Marshal of the Cornell Ann S. Bowers College of Computing and Information Science and a Merrill Presidential Scholar.