University of Michigan School of Information

Human-centered AI stories

The latest news about UMSI's leadership in human-centered AI, from groundbreaking research to real-world solutions.

Students cross a busy State Street in front of The Michigan Union.

At UMSI, the future of AI is human-centered

08/04/2026

UMSI researchers study how artificial intelligence shapes knowledge, work, creativity and human connection, and how to design systems around people, not just models.

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Featured by Washington Post. Associate professor Ceren Budak. Are ChatGPT and other AI chatbots politically biased?

Are AI chatbots politically biased?

07/02/2026

UMSI’s Ceren Budak discusses how company values can shape the political speech of AI chatbots. 

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2026 Schmidt Sciences Grant. "When Specs Meet Science: How Researchers and RSEs Build Trustworthy Software with AI Agents." Elle O'Brien. Lecturer and Research Investigator.

Can AI help scientists write code they can trust?

06/19/2026

UMSI researcher and lecturer Elle O’Brien earned a grant from Schmidt Sciences to study how researchers can use agentic AI to build more reliable scientific software.

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Archivists in the Loop. Archival Reference Services in the Generative Al Moment. University of Michigan. Bentley Historical Library. School of Information.

As AI changes archivists’ work, U-M is helping guide the future

05/28/2026

The University of Michigan School of Information and the Bentley Historical Library are bringing archivists, technologists and researchers together to examine how generative AI is changing archival access, reference and the future of the field.

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UMSI Research. Embodied or Virtually Represented. Navigating the Embodiment Debate in Human-robot interaction. UMSI researchers Connor Esterwood, Xin Ye, Ruijia Guan, Lionel Peter Robert

Do robots need bodies? UMSI researchers say it depends

05/27/2026

In a new paper, UMSI researchers argue virtual robots can be valid tools for studying human-robot interaction, but only when matched to the right research questions. 

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Card wearing glasses and a light purple button-down shirt standing outdoors with his arms crossed, looking at the camera.

Using AI to Make a Century of Congressional Speeches Searchable and Analyzable

05/05/2026

UMSI assistant professor Dallas Card uses AI to transform the Congressional Record into a searchable dataset, expanding access to more than a century of political speech and enabling new insights into public discourse and accountability.

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Quoted by Wired. Professor Nicole Ellison. AI agents are coming for your dating life.

Can AI improve your dating life? UMSI professor Nicole Ellison weighs in

04/17/2026

As experimental “AI agents” promise to optimize friendships and romance, Ellison highlights the opportunities and limitations of outsourcing human connection. 

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New book from UMSI faculty. A Dialogue of the Senses. A comprehensive introduction to embodied cognition for designers of interactive artifacts, systems and environments. umsi.info/news.

New book by Sile O’Modhrain explores how the human body shapes interaction design experiences

04/14/2026

“A Dialogue of the Senses” reframes perception as a multimodal, embodied experience for designers of interactive systems. 

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Overhead view of Kentaro Toyama standing at the center of a circular spiral staircase, looking up.

Are we doomed by AI? Kentaro Toyama says it depends on our choices

03/30/2026

UMSI professor Kentaro Toyama has spent decades building, critiquing and rethinking artificial intelligence. His conclusion: The future of AI won’t be decided by machines, but by what kind of humans we choose to be.

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Focus on AI: Closing the Loop. Check out UMSI faculty and student publications.

Focus on AI: Closing the Loop

03/30/2026

UMSI research on artificial intelligence. 

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