Living Labs with Practitioners (old name Conversations with Practitioners)
We explore co-experimentation with social impact practitioners using participatory methods to ask: How can AI systems of care be developed for vulnerable and underserved communities — and what is “safe enough”? Our work bridges generative AI, human–computer interaction, public policy, and the social sciences. In 2025, papers developed by the group were selected for leading conferences including AAAI and APPAM.
In previous years, the group hosted “Conversations with Practitioners” interviews; an abridged list is linked below.
2024–2025. We partnered with Chayn — a global nonprofit making healing accessible for all survivors of gender-based violence — to reimagine technology in trauma-informed, multilingual, and feminist ways. Together, we co-developed a feminist GenAI framework as well as a trauma-informed safety evaluation methodology and participatory “test-a-thon” methods for GenAI tools. We also applied NLP and LLM techniques to analyze nearly 8,000 survivor hopes for healing from around the world. This work led to papers accepted at leading conferences such as the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AAAI) and the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management (APPAM).
2025–2026. Taking this a step further, we are launching Living Labs —spaces of co-experimentation and participatory methodology with social impact practitioners and nonprofits. These labs explore what “safe enough” looks like for vulnerable populations; how AI can be used practically for good while minimizing harm; and how to equip practitioners with AI literacy to use these systems with discernment. We also design practical toolkits for academic–nonprofit partnerships and build a public knowledge commons on AI and GenAI use cases for the social impact sector.
We bring together trauma-informed researchers and practitioners passionate about ethical tech and AI for good. This work is intentionally interdisciplinary, welcoming students and academic researchers from computer science, HCI, public policy, social sciences, linguistics, psychology, social work, and beyond.
Working Group Organizers #
| Name | Position | Affiliation |
|---|---|---|
| Ashley Khor | PhD Student | University of Pittsburgh |
Working Group Members #
| Name | Position | Affiliation |
|---|---|---|
| Arunav Das | Graduate Student | King’s College London |
| Kayla Evans | Graduate Student | Georgia Institute of Technology |
| Kristen Scott | Postdoctoral Researcher | |
| Mackenzie Jorgensen | Postdoctoral Researcher | |
| Mayra Russo | Graduate Student | Leibniz University Hannover |
| Sakina Hansen | Graduate Student | London School of Economics |
| Sophia Worth | Graduate Student | King’s College London |
| Thaddea Chua | Graduate Student | Georgia Institute of Technology |
Previous Working Group Organizers #
| Name | Position | Affiliation |
|---|---|---|
| Wendy Xu | Postdoctoral Researcher | The Chinese University of Hong Kong |
| Matthew Olckers | Postdoctoral Researcher | UNSW Sydney |
| Mackenzie Jorgensen | Graduate Student | King’s College London |
| Kristen Scott | Graduate Student | KU Leuven |
Our group is grateful to Salma Belhajali, a journalist based in Morocco, for giving us training on conducting interviews, and to Christian Ramirez for co-leading at the beginning stages.
Interviews #
Here is an abridged list of practitioners our group has interviewed. Click on the practitioner’s name to read the summary blog post of the interview. We have the full list of our interviews on the EAAMO Medium blog.
Dan Sutch (May 2024) #
Dan Sutch is the co-founder and director of CAST, the Centre for Acceleration of Social Technology in the UK, where he works with charities and third-sector organisations to use and adjust to digital technologies to address big social challenges.
Yolanda Booyzen (April 2024) #
Yolanda Booyzen is the Director of Development and Communications of HURIDOCS which is an NGO that helps human rights groups gather, organise and use information to create positive change in the world.
Damini Satija (November 2023) #
Damini Satija is a human rights and public policy professional working on data and Artificial Intelligence. She is Head of the Algorithmic Accountability Lab and a Deputy Director at Amnesty Tech.
Michela Martinazzi and Josh Komarovsky (April 2023) #
Michela and Josh are volunteers at the New York Community Action Project (NYCAP), an organization that advocates for community control of the local city police service to prevent police brutality.
Su Wang (Aug 2022) #
Co-founder of SEED for Social Innovation in China, a nonprofit organization that discovers, trains, and connects China’s young social innovators.
Kristina Koenig (July 2022) #
Manages carbon abatement programs working with Indigenous peoples in the Kimberley Region of Western Australia.
Swapna Reddy (Dec 2021) #
Co-founder and co-executive director of Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project (ASAP), a non-profit organisation that strives to improve the lives of asylum seekers in the United States.