All posts by Association for the Understanding of Artificial Intelligence (AAAI)

Generations in Dialogue: Bridging Perspectives in AI is a podcast from AAAI featuring thought-provoking discussions between AI experts, practitioners, and enthusiasts from different age groups and backgrounds. Each episode delves into how generational experiences shape views on AI, exploring the challenges, opportunities, and ethical considerations that come with the advancement of this transformative technology.

Human-robot interactions and social robotics with Professor Marynel Vázquez

In the fourth episode of this new series from AAAI, host Ella Lan chats to Professor Marynel Vázquez about what inspired her research direction, how her perspective on human-robot interactions has changed over time, robots navigating the social world, potential for using robots in education, modeling interactions as graphs, addressing misunderstandings with regards to robots in society, getting input from target users, the challenge of recognising when errors happen, making robots that adapt, and more.

About Professor Marynel Vázquez:

Marynel Vázquez is a computer scientist and roboticist whose research focuses on Human-Robot Interaction (HRI), particularly in multi-party settings. She studies social group dynamics—such as spatial behavior and social influence—in HRI, and develops perception and decision-making algorithms that enable autonomous, socially aware robot behavior. A central theme in her work is modeling interactions as graphs, allowing robots to reason about individuals, relationships, and groups simultaneously. Her interdisciplinary approach combines computer science, behavioral science, and design, and she enjoys building new robotic systems and research infrastructure to bring theoretical ideas into real-world practice.

About the host

Ella Lan, a member of the AAAI Student Committee, is the host of “Generations in Dialogue: Bridging Perspectives in AI.” She is passionate about bringing together voices across career stages to explore the evolving landscape of artificial intelligence. Ella is a student at Stanford University tentatively studying Computer Science and Psychology, and she enjoys creating spaces where technical innovation intersects with ethical reflection, human values, and societal impact. Her interests span education, healthcare, and AI ethics, with a focus on building inclusive, interdisciplinary conversations that shape the future of responsible AI.

Generations in Dialogue: Bridging Perspectives in AI is a podcast from AAAI featuring thought-provoking discussions between AI experts, practitioners, and enthusiasts from different age groups and backgrounds. Each episode delves into how generational experiences shape views on AI, exploring the challenges, opportunities, and ethical considerations that come with the advancement of this transformative technology.

Embodied AI, robotics, perception, and action with Professor Roberto Martín-Martín

In the third episode of this new series from AAAI, host Ella Lan chats to Professor Roberto Martín-Martín about taking a screwdriver to his toys as a child, how his research focus has evolved over time, how different generations interact with technology, making robots for everyone, being inspired by colleagues, advice for early-career researchers, and how machines can enhance human capabilities.

About Professor Roberto Martín-Martín:

Roberto Martín-Martín is an Assistant Professor of Computer Science at the University of Texas at Austin, where his research integrates robotics, computer vision, and machine learning to build autonomous agents capable of perceiving, learning, and acting in the real world. His work spans low-level tasks like pick-and-place and navigation to complex activities such as cooking and mobile manipulation, often drawing inspiration from human cognition and integrating insights from psychology and cognitive science. He previously worked as an AI Researcher at Salesforce AI and as a Postdoctoral Scholar at the Stanford Vision and Learning Lab with Silvio Savarese and Fei-Fei Li, leading projects in visuomotor learning, mobile manipulation, and human-robot interaction. He earned his Ph.D. and M.S. from Technische Universität Berlin under Oliver Brock and a B.S. from Universidad Politécnica de Madrid. His work has been recognized with best paper awards at RSS and ICRA, and he serves as Chair of the IEEE/RAS Technical Committee on Mobile Manipulation.

About the host

Ella Lan, a member of the AAAI Student Committee, is the host of “Generations in Dialogue: Bridging Perspectives in AI.” She is passionate about bringing together voices across career stages to explore the evolving landscape of artificial intelligence. Ella is a student at Stanford University tentatively studying Computer Science and Psychology, and she enjoys creating spaces where technical innovation intersects with ethical reflection, human values, and societal impact. Her interests span education, healthcare, and AI ethics, with a focus on building inclusive, interdisciplinary conversations that shape the future of responsible AI.

Generations in Dialogue: Bridging Perspectives in AI is a new podcast from AAAI featuring thought-provoking discussions between AI experts, practitioners, and enthusiasts from different age groups and backgrounds. Each episode delves into how generational experiences shape views on AI, exploring the challenges, opportunities, and ethical considerations that come with the advancement of this transformative technology.

Multi-agent systems and human-AI interaction with Professor Manuela Veloso

In the first episode of this new series from AAAI, host Ella Lan chats to Professor Manuela Veloso about her research journey and path into AI, the history and evolution of AI research, inter-generational collaborations, teamwork, AI to assist humans, AI in finance, advice for early-career researchers, and her excitement about connecting human knowledge with computers.

About Professor Manuela Veloso

Manuela Veloso is a renowned computer scientist and a pioneer in artificial intelligence, with influential work in multi-agent systems, robotics, and human-AI collaboration. She is currently the Head of AI Research at JPMorgan Chase, where she leads efforts to integrate AI into financial services. Previously, she was the Herbert A. Simon University Professor at Carnegie Mellon University and Head of its Machine Learning Department. Her research spans autonomous robotics, planning, machine learning, and AI systems that collaborate seamlessly with humans. A Fellow of the AAAI, IEEE, and AAAS, Professor Veloso has received numerous awards for her contributions to AI and remains a leading voice in advancing responsible and interactive AI systems.

About the host

Ella Lan, a member of the AAAI Student Committee, is the host of “Generations in Dialogue: Bridging Perspectives in AI.” She is passionate about bringing together voices across career stages to explore the evolving landscape of artificial intelligence. Ella is a student at Stanford University tentatively studying Computer Science and Psychology, and she enjoys creating spaces where technical innovation intersects with ethical reflection, human values, and societal impact. Her interests span education, healthcare, and AI ethics, with a focus on building inclusive, interdisciplinary conversations that shape the future of responsible AI.

The Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AAAI) is thrilled to announce the launch of a new podcast series, “Generations in Dialogue: Bridging Perspectives in AI.” Through this series, we aim to represent diverse perspectives across generations, fostering rich conversations about the ever changing landscape of AI. “Generations in Dialogue” aims to feature unique outlooks from AI experts, practitioners, enthusiasts of all backgrounds. Each episode will cover topics ranging from the history of AI, the latest research, to exploring the future ethical implications of its newest technologies. We will delve into how generational experiences shape views on AI, exploring the challenges, opportunities, and ethical considerations that come with the advancement of this transformative technology.

We welcome you to join us on this exciting journey. Whether you are an AI professional, researcher, or student, we hope this platform will be invaluable in discovering unique perspectives of AI with a global audience, bridging existing generational gaps in the understanding of AI and expanding your network beyond your local communities.

About the host

Ella Lan, a member of the AAAI Student Committee, is the host of “Generations in Dialogue: Bridging Perspectives in AI.” She is passionate about bringing together voices across career stages to explore the evolving landscape of artificial intelligence. Ella is a student at Stanford University tentatively studying Computer Science and Psychology, and she enjoys creating spaces where technical innovation intersects with ethical reflection, human values, and societal impact. Her interests span education, healthcare, and AI ethics, with a focus on building inclusive, interdisciplinary conversations that shape the future of responsible AI.

You can find out more about the series here, and you can also watch the first episodes on the AAAI YouTube channel.