Frameworks for Responsible AI Innovation

Back to conference schedule

Date & Time: Thursday, September 18, 11:00–12:30 EEST
Location: Kaleva Hall, Dipoli, Aalto University

Overview

This session offers concrete frameworks and methodologies for AI development that is grounded in human values, ethical collaboration, and deep sociotechnical understandings of non-deterministic interactions.

Session Leader: Ian Lowrie, Director of Digital Services, eSimplicity

Presentations

A New Framework for Studying Non-deterministic LLM Interactions

Katie Johnson, Global Head of Research & Consumer Insights, Panasonic Well
Larry Becker, Director, Bold Insight
Megha Goel, UX Researcher, Bold Insight
Gavin Lew, Managing Partner, Bold Insight

LLMs fundamentally transform product research methodology by making each user interaction unique and non-deterministic. This case study offers researchers a practical framework that combines longitudinal ethnographic observation with product simulation to study these unpredictable interactions where consistent user experiences cannot be guaranteed. The methodology addresses constraints and advances beyond traditional episodic testing through three innovations: orchestrating multi-participant group interactions, managing the shift from transactional to relational engagement, and integrating human expertise through structured intervention points. Audiences can learn how ethnographic methods can accelerate product development, illustrated by our four-day journey from insight to patent-pending feature, all while maintaining research rigor in an era of non-deterministic AI products. Research Case Study

Presenters & Authors

Katie Johnson is Global Head of Research & Consumer Insights at Panasonic Well. Early in her career she worked as a human factors engineer and studied and taught design thinking She has served as an innovation strategist for a $750M hardware company, a software product manager, consulted as a UX Researcher to Fortune 50 companies, spent 2 years working on Ethereum and Blockchain technology, and worked on projects involving AI and LLM at Google as a Lead UXR on Gemini’s founding launch team.

Larry Becker is a Director at Bold Insight, a full service UX research consultancy. Over 25 years, he has worked in agency, corporate, and academic environments, consulting on experience optimization, content strategy and marketing for Fortune 500 companies and globally ranked universities. He led digital marketing for a Top Ten Business School and held senior leadership positions at an Inc 500 agency and a leading multi-channel retailer. His research focuses frequently on human-AI interaction.

Megha Goel is a UX Researcher at Bold Insight, a full service UX research consultancy. She specializes in global adoption strategy for digital products and focuses on cross-cultural UX and multilingual design, helping companies expand into diverse markets. Her work includes research on the Next Billion Users, ensuring AI and technology solutions are accessible across linguistic and cultural contexts.

Gavin Lew is Managing Partner at Bold Insight, a full service UX research consultancy. Gavin has over 25 years of experience in corporate and academic environments and founded what grew to be the largest UX firm in the US. He is an adjunct professor at DePaul and Northwestern Universities and faculty member of the Feinberg School of Medicine, and consults on research methods for Northwestern studies. Gavin is co-author of the book AI and UX: Why Artificial Intelligence Needs User Experience.

Ethical and Emergent Intelligences: A Four-Stage Path to Responsible AI Collaboration

Sabrina Kang, Principal Researcher, Salesforce

This paper introduces a practical framework for responsible AI collaboration – one that’s adaptable and easy to understand. It challenges organizations to move beyond narrow efficiency goals and toward more innovative, effective ways of working with AI. The key lies in approaching reskilling through an interdisciplinary lens, preparing teams for discernment, and enabling people to do what humans do best: build relationships, exercise judgment, and work with care. Paper

Presenter & Author

Sabrina Kang is a Principal Researcher at Salesforce, integrating technology, ethics, and strategy to foster responsible AI innovation. Drawing on extensive user research experience across distinct industries and a background in public policy and journalism, she has led cross-functional teams toward human-centered approaches. Leading the content research practice for 500+ writers, she recognizes content as an AI-first use case and champions ethical, creative collaborations.

Encounters between Artificial and Human Intelligences in Early-Stage Innovation Work

Dan Perkel, Partner, IDEO
Will Notini, Senior Design Research Lead, IDEO
Angela Kochoska, Senior Data Scientist, IDEO

We offer a framework for when and how to introduce or resist AI tools in research. There is a widespread expectation that we rapidly adapt our practices to integrate these technologies, but without careful attention to where and how value is created in our work, using them may not be helping us so much as introducing short-cuts that make research performative at best and counterproductive at worst. Our framework is based on detailed mapping of the way understanding is created in early-stage innovation work through the exchange of intelligence between participants, researchers, design teams, clients, and others. Paper

Presenters & Authors

Dan Perkel is a leader of IDEO’s Media, Entertainment, and Technology practice in North America, working with some of the world’s leading companies to create new digital platforms and experiences, build new creative capabilities, and write the next chapter of growth. As an experienced designer, strategist, and ethnographer, Dan loves drawing insights from the quirkiness and contradictions of everyday life to inform new strategies, products, and services.

Will Notini is a mixed-methods researcher who draws on his training in social science research and growth strategy to execute design and innovation work for clients in a range of industries. At IDEO he leads multi-disciplinary teams through iterative design projects including ideation, prototyping, testing, and road mapping phases. He is also a lecturer at University of Chicago in the Division of Social Sciences. He holds an MA from University of Chicago and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

Angela Kochoska is a Senior Data Scientist at IDEO, applying their PhD and skills in statistics, and physics to design and deliver innovative solutions for complex problems. Angela has over 6 years of experience in data science, research, and teaching, working with diverse teams and stakeholders across academia and industry. At IDEO, Angela collaborates with multidisciplinary teams to leverage data and insights to create human-centered products and services that improve lives and address global challenges.