Zana Buçinca
@zbucinca.bsky.social
Researcher @Microsoft; PhD @Harvard; Incoming Assistant Professor @MIT (Fall 2026); Human-AI Interaction, Worker-Centric AI
zbucinca.github.io
zbucinca.github.io
Pinned
Zana Buçinca
@zbucinca.bsky.social
· May 31
Thrilled to share that I’ve successfully defended my PhD dissertation and I will be joining MIT as an Assistant Professor starting Fall 2026, with a shared appointment between Sloan and EECS!
I will be recruiting 1-2 PhD students this upcoming cycle. Consider applying to MIT EECS!
I will be recruiting 1-2 PhD students this upcoming cycle. Consider applying to MIT EECS!
Reposted by Zana Buçinca
Microsoft senior researcher, Advait Sarkar, recently presented at TED AI Vienna, where he spoke about AI’s role in elevating human thought.
How to stop AI from killing your critical thinking
Chatbots might help you get work done faster — but at what cost? When we outsource our reasoning to artificial intelligence, we reduce ourselves to "middle managers for our own thoughts," says AI and ...
msft.it
November 13, 2025 at 5:33 PM
Microsoft senior researcher, Advait Sarkar, recently presented at TED AI Vienna, where he spoke about AI’s role in elevating human thought.
Reposted by Zana Buçinca
Reposted by Zana Buçinca
What is "pro-worker AI," and how can we actually achieve it?
A panel discussion at the upcoming launch of the Stone Center will feature insights from @meredithmeredith.bsky.social, @emollick.bsky.social & @zbucinca.bsky.social.
Register: shapingwork.mit.edu/events/stone...
A panel discussion at the upcoming launch of the Stone Center will feature insights from @meredithmeredith.bsky.social, @emollick.bsky.social & @zbucinca.bsky.social.
Register: shapingwork.mit.edu/events/stone...
October 16, 2025 at 6:34 PM
What is "pro-worker AI," and how can we actually achieve it?
A panel discussion at the upcoming launch of the Stone Center will feature insights from @meredithmeredith.bsky.social, @emollick.bsky.social & @zbucinca.bsky.social.
Register: shapingwork.mit.edu/events/stone...
A panel discussion at the upcoming launch of the Stone Center will feature insights from @meredithmeredith.bsky.social, @emollick.bsky.social & @zbucinca.bsky.social.
Register: shapingwork.mit.edu/events/stone...
Reposted by Zana Buçinca
Our Responsible AI team at Apple is looking for spring/summer 2026 PhD research interns! Please apply at jobs.apple.com/en-us/detail... and email rai-internship@group.apple.com. Do not send extra info (e.g., CV), just drop us a line so we can find your application in the central pool!
Machine Learning / AI Internships - Jobs - Careers at Apple
Apply for a Machine Learning / AI Internships job at Apple. Read about the role and find out if it’s right for you.
jobs.apple.com
October 10, 2025 at 2:28 AM
Our Responsible AI team at Apple is looking for spring/summer 2026 PhD research interns! Please apply at jobs.apple.com/en-us/detail... and email rai-internship@group.apple.com. Do not send extra info (e.g., CV), just drop us a line so we can find your application in the central pool!
Honored to be part of the panel on Pro-Worker AI at the launch event of MIT Stone Center on Inequality and Shaping the Future of Work. Looking forward to it!
📅 Join us on 11/3 as we officially launch the Stone Center on Inequality and Shaping the Future of Work! The half-day event will feature a series of discussions at the intersection of technology, the future of work, and inequality. See the agenda and register: shapingwork.mit.edu/events/stone...
October 7, 2025 at 6:33 PM
Honored to be part of the panel on Pro-Worker AI at the launch event of MIT Stone Center on Inequality and Shaping the Future of Work. Looking forward to it!
Reposted by Zana Buçinca
📅 Join us on 11/3 as we officially launch the Stone Center on Inequality and Shaping the Future of Work! The half-day event will feature a series of discussions at the intersection of technology, the future of work, and inequality. See the agenda and register: shapingwork.mit.edu/events/stone...
October 7, 2025 at 5:43 PM
📅 Join us on 11/3 as we officially launch the Stone Center on Inequality and Shaping the Future of Work! The half-day event will feature a series of discussions at the intersection of technology, the future of work, and inequality. See the agenda and register: shapingwork.mit.edu/events/stone...
Reposted by Zana Buçinca
“The AI in the study probably prompted doctors to become over-reliant on its recommendations, ‘leading to clinicians becoming less motivated, less focused, and less responsible when making cognitive decisions without AI assistance,’ the scientists said in the paper.”
AI Eroded Doctors’ Ability to Spot Cancer Within Months in Study
Artificial intelligence, touted for its potential to transform medicine, led to some doctors losing skills after just a few months in a new study.
www.bloomberg.com
August 12, 2025 at 11:41 PM
“The AI in the study probably prompted doctors to become over-reliant on its recommendations, ‘leading to clinicians becoming less motivated, less focused, and less responsible when making cognitive decisions without AI assistance,’ the scientists said in the paper.”
Reposted by Zana Buçinca
We're recruiting a new tenure-track faculty member to MIT Sloan!
apply.interfolio.com/170116
We're looking for someone doing research in quantitative marketing, broadly considered. Faculty in our group work on economics of privacy, mathematical psych, networks, and applications of ML & AI.
apply.interfolio.com/170116
We're looking for someone doing research in quantitative marketing, broadly considered. Faculty in our group work on economics of privacy, mathematical psych, networks, and applications of ML & AI.
Apply - Interfolio
{{$ctrl.$state.data.pageTitle}} - Apply - Interfolio
apply.interfolio.com
August 6, 2025 at 10:36 PM
We're recruiting a new tenure-track faculty member to MIT Sloan!
apply.interfolio.com/170116
We're looking for someone doing research in quantitative marketing, broadly considered. Faculty in our group work on economics of privacy, mathematical psych, networks, and applications of ML & AI.
apply.interfolio.com/170116
We're looking for someone doing research in quantitative marketing, broadly considered. Faculty in our group work on economics of privacy, mathematical psych, networks, and applications of ML & AI.
Reposted by Zana Buçinca
The sycophantic tone of ChatGPT always sounded familiar, and then I recognized where I'd heard it before: author response letters to reviewer comments.
"You're exactly right, that's a great point!"
"Thank you so much for this insight!"
Also how it always agrees even when it contradicts itself.
"You're exactly right, that's a great point!"
"Thank you so much for this insight!"
Also how it always agrees even when it contradicts itself.
July 9, 2025 at 9:24 AM
The sycophantic tone of ChatGPT always sounded familiar, and then I recognized where I'd heard it before: author response letters to reviewer comments.
"You're exactly right, that's a great point!"
"Thank you so much for this insight!"
Also how it always agrees even when it contradicts itself.
"You're exactly right, that's a great point!"
"Thank you so much for this insight!"
Also how it always agrees even when it contradicts itself.
Reposted by Zana Buçinca
You might not think that forming a committee where frontline workers can share work-related health & well-being concerns would have all that much effect on a workplace.
But it can. That’s what @elkelly.bsky.social @mitiwer.bsky.social & colleagues found in a recent study: tinyurl.com/y4pej88v
But it can. That’s what @elkelly.bsky.social @mitiwer.bsky.social & colleagues found in a recent study: tinyurl.com/y4pej88v
The Surprising Potential of Health and Well-Being Committees | MIT Sloan
MIT Sloan Professor Erin L. Kelly, who is Co-Director of the MIT Institute for Work and Employment Research (IWER), found in a recent multiyear study in e-commerce warehouses that establishing Health ...
tinyurl.com
June 9, 2025 at 3:15 PM
You might not think that forming a committee where frontline workers can share work-related health & well-being concerns would have all that much effect on a workplace.
But it can. That’s what @elkelly.bsky.social @mitiwer.bsky.social & colleagues found in a recent study: tinyurl.com/y4pej88v
But it can. That’s what @elkelly.bsky.social @mitiwer.bsky.social & colleagues found in a recent study: tinyurl.com/y4pej88v
Reposted by Zana Buçinca
I really dislike this sentiment re: AI impacts on education: If an assignment can be completed by AI then it is clearly just busy work; educators need to create better assignments.
Absolutely not true. Just because AI can do something too doesn't mean that doing it doesn't have pedagogical value.
Absolutely not true. Just because AI can do something too doesn't mean that doing it doesn't have pedagogical value.
June 2, 2025 at 8:04 PM
I really dislike this sentiment re: AI impacts on education: If an assignment can be completed by AI then it is clearly just busy work; educators need to create better assignments.
Absolutely not true. Just because AI can do something too doesn't mean that doing it doesn't have pedagogical value.
Absolutely not true. Just because AI can do something too doesn't mean that doing it doesn't have pedagogical value.
Thrilled to share that I’ve successfully defended my PhD dissertation and I will be joining MIT as an Assistant Professor starting Fall 2026, with a shared appointment between Sloan and EECS!
I will be recruiting 1-2 PhD students this upcoming cycle. Consider applying to MIT EECS!
I will be recruiting 1-2 PhD students this upcoming cycle. Consider applying to MIT EECS!
May 31, 2025 at 9:30 PM
Thrilled to share that I’ve successfully defended my PhD dissertation and I will be joining MIT as an Assistant Professor starting Fall 2026, with a shared appointment between Sloan and EECS!
I will be recruiting 1-2 PhD students this upcoming cycle. Consider applying to MIT EECS!
I will be recruiting 1-2 PhD students this upcoming cycle. Consider applying to MIT EECS!
Reposted by Zana Buçinca
@zbucinca.bsky.social's new paper shows that people who receive AI decision recommendations with contrastive explanations (pick A instead of B because...) grow their skills. This important because people do not learn when AI provides conventional explanations.
iis.seas.harvard.edu/papers/bucin...
iis.seas.harvard.edu/papers/bucin...
May 15, 2025 at 3:57 PM
@zbucinca.bsky.social's new paper shows that people who receive AI decision recommendations with contrastive explanations (pick A instead of B because...) grow their skills. This important because people do not learn when AI provides conventional explanations.
iis.seas.harvard.edu/papers/bucin...
iis.seas.harvard.edu/papers/bucin...
#CHI2025
As we rely on AI for decision-making support, how will our independent decision-making skills be affected? Prior work shows people’s decision-making skills often fail to improve or may even erode when they rely on AI for decision-support, even when the AI provides informative explanations.
As we rely on AI for decision-making support, how will our independent decision-making skills be affected? Prior work shows people’s decision-making skills often fail to improve or may even erode when they rely on AI for decision-support, even when the AI provides informative explanations.
April 30, 2025 at 2:41 AM
#CHI2025
As we rely on AI for decision-making support, how will our independent decision-making skills be affected? Prior work shows people’s decision-making skills often fail to improve or may even erode when they rely on AI for decision-support, even when the AI provides informative explanations.
As we rely on AI for decision-making support, how will our independent decision-making skills be affected? Prior work shows people’s decision-making skills often fail to improve or may even erode when they rely on AI for decision-support, even when the AI provides informative explanations.
Reposted by Zana Buçinca
@kjfeng.me and @rockpang.bsky.social are kicking off the panel on sociotechnical AI governance!
#CHI2025
#CHI2025
April 27, 2025 at 12:32 AM
@kjfeng.me and @rockpang.bsky.social are kicking off the panel on sociotechnical AI governance!
#CHI2025
#CHI2025
Excited to present my work at Max Planck soon!
How can AI systems be designed to support human values in decision-making? On 23 May, @zbucinca.bsky.social will present her work on value-aligned human-AI interaction, hosted by the Initiative ‘Max Planck Law | Tech | Society’. law.mpg.de/event/value-aligned-human-ai-interaction/
Value-Aligned Human-AI Interaction - Max Planck Law
Zana Buçinca argues that how we design and deploy AI-infused technologies will shape people's skills and competence, their sense of agency, collaboration with others, and even the meaning they derive ...
law.mpg.de
April 22, 2025 at 2:21 PM
Excited to present my work at Max Planck soon!
Reposted by Zana Buçinca
The First Workshop on Sociotechnical AI Governance at CHI 2025 (STAIG@CHI’25) is less than a week away! We’re super excited to hold a panel with some amazing speakers to discuss why a sociotechnical approach to AI governance is so important. Learn more + see our full schedule: chi-staig.github.io
April 21, 2025 at 4:55 PM
The First Workshop on Sociotechnical AI Governance at CHI 2025 (STAIG@CHI’25) is less than a week away! We’re super excited to hold a panel with some amazing speakers to discuss why a sociotechnical approach to AI governance is so important. Learn more + see our full schedule: chi-staig.github.io
Reposted by Zana Buçinca
It's hard to say this, but science (& research more generally) is just being **stopped** in the US right now. This is just one university, losing nearly a billion dollars in project funding pretty much overnight. That's people's jobs & the research that could save lives.
www.wsj.com/health/healt...
www.wsj.com/health/healt...
March 12, 2025 at 10:52 AM
It's hard to say this, but science (& research more generally) is just being **stopped** in the US right now. This is just one university, losing nearly a billion dollars in project funding pretty much overnight. That's people's jobs & the research that could save lives.
www.wsj.com/health/healt...
www.wsj.com/health/healt...
Reposted by Zana Buçinca
So disappointing that Harvard is terminating ongoing faculty searches. You'd think that with their resources they could complete these searches and then pause future searches. Apart from the huge waste of everyone's time, it's devastating for the candidates. My heart goes out to them.
March 11, 2025 at 5:35 PM
So disappointing that Harvard is terminating ongoing faculty searches. You'd think that with their resources they could complete these searches and then pause future searches. Apart from the huge waste of everyone's time, it's devastating for the candidates. My heart goes out to them.
Reposted by Zana Buçinca
Unfortunately, since there are people crying wolf about all kinds of things, as brilliantly documented by the Pessimists Archive project (@pessimistsarc.bsky.social), the enterprise of alarm-raising defeats its own aims, because it ends up desensitizing people to predictions about risks and harms.
March 10, 2025 at 1:47 PM
Unfortunately, since there are people crying wolf about all kinds of things, as brilliantly documented by the Pessimists Archive project (@pessimistsarc.bsky.social), the enterprise of alarm-raising defeats its own aims, because it ends up desensitizing people to predictions about risks and harms.
Interested in human-AI interaction?
Consider submitting your work to our #CHI2025 workshop on augmenting human agency & reasoning with AI. Join us in Yokohama, Japan!
Submission deadline: March 2
www.media.mit.edu/events/CHI-2...
Consider submitting your work to our #CHI2025 workshop on augmenting human agency & reasoning with AI. Join us in Yokohama, Japan!
Submission deadline: March 2
www.media.mit.edu/events/CHI-2...
CHI 2025: Human-AI Interaction for Augmented Reasoning – MIT Media Lab
Human-AI Interaction for Augmented ReasoningImproving Human Reflective and Critical Thinking with Artificial IntelligenceApril 26, 2025 | 9:00-17:00 JST | CHI …
www.media.mit.edu
February 22, 2025 at 7:00 PM
Interested in human-AI interaction?
Consider submitting your work to our #CHI2025 workshop on augmenting human agency & reasoning with AI. Join us in Yokohama, Japan!
Submission deadline: March 2
www.media.mit.edu/events/CHI-2...
Consider submitting your work to our #CHI2025 workshop on augmenting human agency & reasoning with AI. Join us in Yokohama, Japan!
Submission deadline: March 2
www.media.mit.edu/events/CHI-2...
The worst part about submitting papers to FAccT: the strict 14 page-limit.
The best part about reviewing papers for FAccT: the strict 14 page-limit.
The best part about reviewing papers for FAccT: the strict 14 page-limit.
February 18, 2025 at 4:18 AM
The worst part about submitting papers to FAccT: the strict 14 page-limit.
The best part about reviewing papers for FAccT: the strict 14 page-limit.
The best part about reviewing papers for FAccT: the strict 14 page-limit.
Consider submitting to our upcoming CHI workshop on augmenting human reasoning with AI!
How can we design AI systems that enhance human critical thinking, reasoning, and agency, rather than diminish them?
Happy to announce our workshop on "AI Enhanced Reasoning" at #CHI2025 in Yokohama on April 26, 2025.
Please join us! aireasoning.media.mit.edu
Happy to announce our workshop on "AI Enhanced Reasoning" at #CHI2025 in Yokohama on April 26, 2025.
Please join us! aireasoning.media.mit.edu
AI Enhanced Reasoning Workshop – CHI 2025 Workshop
aireasoning.media.mit.edu
January 17, 2025 at 11:29 PM
Consider submitting to our upcoming CHI workshop on augmenting human reasoning with AI!
Reposted by Zana Buçinca
How can we design AI systems that enhance human critical thinking, reasoning, and agency, rather than diminish them?
Happy to announce our workshop on "AI Enhanced Reasoning" at #CHI2025 in Yokohama on April 26, 2025.
Please join us! aireasoning.media.mit.edu
Happy to announce our workshop on "AI Enhanced Reasoning" at #CHI2025 in Yokohama on April 26, 2025.
Please join us! aireasoning.media.mit.edu
AI Enhanced Reasoning Workshop – CHI 2025 Workshop
aireasoning.media.mit.edu
January 16, 2025 at 7:41 PM
How can we design AI systems that enhance human critical thinking, reasoning, and agency, rather than diminish them?
Happy to announce our workshop on "AI Enhanced Reasoning" at #CHI2025 in Yokohama on April 26, 2025.
Please join us! aireasoning.media.mit.edu
Happy to announce our workshop on "AI Enhanced Reasoning" at #CHI2025 in Yokohama on April 26, 2025.
Please join us! aireasoning.media.mit.edu