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11. Building a Research Lab and Putting Students' Interests First (Toby Li, University of Notre Dame)

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Hello and Welcome to Conditionally Accepted! I'm Ding Li, an AI and HCI researcher, and Conditionaly Accepted is my show about research, work, and life at the intersection of humans and technology.

Today, I have the pleasure of speaking with Toby Li, an assistant professor at the University of Notre Dame. Toby's research focuses on designing practical, human-centered AI systems for those really complex, knowledge-intensive tasks we face every day. He recently became the director of the Human-Centered Responsible AI Lab at the Lucey Family Institute for Data Science and Society.

In this episode, we explore Toby's journey as a new faculty member and how he's building his research group from the ground up. Toby shares his unique approach to fostering a thriving lab culture, emphasizing the importance of open communication, trust, and always putting his students' interests first. We also get into some really interesting discussions about the potential pitfalls of algorithmic management at Amazon warehouses, the realities of academic salaries, and his vision for the future of responsible AI.

Toby's candid insights make this a truly captivating conversation. So without further ado, let's dive right in!

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Chapters:

  • 0:00 Introduction and Welcome
  • 0:50 Starting a Research Lab During the Pandemic
  • 2:56 Building Lab Culture
  • 6:57 PhD Mentorship Philosophy
  • 10:45 Defining Success in Academia
  • 17:40 Interdisciplinary Collaboration and Community Building
  • 28:15 Fostering Lab Community and Casual Connections
  • 43:56 Human-Centered Responsible AI
  • 58:00 Balancing Opportunities and Growth

Full transcript text​

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