Human-AI Interaction · Design Research
Dorsa Charkhian
Design researcher in Human-AI Interaction. Culturally adaptive AI for care and access in multilingual communities.
About My Work
I’m a design researcher in Human-Computer Interaction and Human-AI Interaction, and a prospective PhD student for Fall 2027. I study how people interpret AI through their own language, culture and lived experience, using qualitative, participatory and speculative design methods.
My current direction asks how the contextual knowledge of immigrant and multilingual families can shape the AI systems they use for care. It grows out of my master’s thesis at Drexel, where students rejected “robotic” translation and trusted AI only when its language felt culturally right, and out of a path that began with craft and Islamic art in Tabriz. More about my research →
Research and Design Interests
- Human-AI interaction for healthcare and self-care
- Interactive machine learning and personal sensing
- Design for AI: metaphors, ideation and prototyping
- Culturally and linguistically adaptive AI for multilingual communities
- Digital health for families and caregivers
- Community-centered and public interest technology
- Speculative and assistive wearables
Methods and Analysis
- Service, systemic and transition design: journey and empathy mapping, future visioning
- Speculative design and design fiction
- Participatory design and co-design workshops
- Research through Design (RtD)
- Interactive ML prototyping: Teachable Machine, TouchDesigner, webcam sensing
- Semi-structured interviews, surveys and mixed-methods study design
- Qualitative synthesis: thematic analysis and affinity mapping
News
- Sep 2026Selected as a Google Women Techmakers Ambassador (2026 cohort)
- Sep 2026Reviewed for the International Journal of Human–Computer Interaction
- 2026Two papers on human-AI collaborative ideation at EDULEARN26
- Mar 2026Started as Adjunct Instructor, Department of Technology, New York University
- Feb 2026Reviewer, ACM CHI 2026 Posters
- Jan 2026Joined the ACM TOCHI Distinguished Reviewer Board
- 2026Paper on human–AI co-design in visual communication at INTED2026
Background
Education
M.S. Artificial Intelligence, Touro University (expected 2026)
M.S. Digital Media, Drexel University (2025)
B.F.A. Islamic Art – Wood, Tabriz Art University (2022)
Teaching
New York University · Pratt Institute · Drexel University. Teaching →
Service
Distinguished Reviewer Board, ACM TOCHI · Reviewer for ACM CHI, IJHCI, AI and Ethics, AI & Society · Chair Reviewer, UXPA · Mentor, DIFC Innovation Hub (Ignyte), PhillyCHI, ADPList
Awards
IDEA-DEC MicroGrant, Drexel (2024) · COMAD General Award, Drexel (2024) · Third Place, PhillyCHI UX Competition (2024)