- When
- Wednesday, Apr 8, 2026, 3:30 – 4:30 pm
- Event interval
- Single day event
- Campus location
- Kincaid Hall (KIN)
- Campus room
- 102/108
- Accessibility contact
- chairpsy@uw.edu
- Event types
- Lectures/Seminars
- Event sponsors
- Department of Psychology
- Description
Beyond the Algorithm: A Socio-Technical Approach to Advancing Equitable AI and Student Learning
Dr. Courtney Heldreth, Senior Staff User Experience Researcher & Manager, Google
As Artificial Intelligence (AI) becomes increasingly embedded in the fabric of daily life and education, the technical challenges of optimization are becoming inseparable from the psychological and social contexts they inhabit. For social psychologists, this shift represents a critical inflection point: AI systems are not neutral tools but are deeply embedded in social systems of power, identity, and learning. This talk argues that achieving equitable AI requires moving beyond purely algorithmic fixes to adopt a socio-technical approach—one that centers social psychological methods to understand and mitigate human impact. Drawing on my research at Google Research, I will present three distinct projects that demonstrate why behavioral science is essential to the future of AI. By integrating social psychology into the heart of AI development, we can shift from building isolated objects to designing more just and equitable systems.
Faculty host: Jen Forsyth
These lectures are made possible by a generous endowment by Professor Allen L. Edwards- Map
- View Google Map