Motahhare Eslami

Motahhare Eslami is an Assistant Professor at Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Computer Science, Human-Computer Interaction Institute. Her research bridges human-computer interaction, social computing, and AI ethics.

• Education: PhD in Computer Science from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, advised by Karrie Karahalios

Research Focus:
Dr. Eslami investigates algorithmic opacity and user behavior in socio-technical systems, developing frameworks to enhance transparency and stakeholder participation in AI governance. Her work addresses:

• Algorithmic bias mitigation through participatory audits
• Ethical implications of generative AI and smart assistants
• Inclusion of marginalized communities in AI design
• Transparency mechanisms for opaque algorithms
• Civic technology and public sector AI

Recent Article Trends:
Her publications analyze algorithmic harms through lenses of:

• Medical imaging and data generation
• Labor market equity and low-wage employment
• Youth perspectives on AI ethics
• Content creator experiences with demonetization
• Explainability in black-box AI systems

Scientific Recognition:

• Best Paper at AAAI HCOMP (2025)
• Google Academic Research Award (2024)
• Microsoft AI & Society Fellowship (2024)
• 100 Brilliant Women in AI Ethics (2023)
• Teaching Innovation Award at CMU (2023)

Advising & Collaborations:
Mentors PhD students Shixian Xie, Wesley Deng, Seyun Kim, and former post-doc Jaemarie Solyst. Collaborates with NSF AI Institute for Collaborative Assistance (2022–2027), Amazon, Google, and Microsoft on responsible AI initiatives.