03 / Talks & conversations
Public talks, conference presentations, and podcast conversations on the design, study, and possibilities of conversational AI.
CHAI Lab Public Talk Series · Online
Speaker: Dr. Nima Zargham
Hosted by CHAI Lab at Northeastern University
An online public talk exploring video games as settings for studying human–AI communication and collaboration. Open to everyone interested in conversational AI.
See the lab announcement for confirmed time, time zone, and joining details.
Healthcare AI Pioneers
Guests: Smit Desai and Adrian Haimovich
Hosted by Jesse M. Pines
A conversation about voice agents in emergency departments, why voice can be useful in acute care, and how design choices can keep patients involved.
CUI 2026 Online Pre-Event · Virtual
Authors: Supriya Khadka, Smit Desai
A systematic review of how empathy has been conceptualized, designed, and evaluated in research on conversational agents.
CUI 2026 Online Pre-Event · Virtual
Authors: Smit Desai, Jessie Chin, Dakuo Wang, Benjamin Cowan, Michael Twidale
Exploring how voice user interfaces can move beyond rigid metaphors toward more adaptive conversational experiences.
CUI 2026 Online Pre-Event · Virtual
Authors: Niharika Mathur, Smit Desai
Rethinking explanations as interactive conversations, with opportunities for people to ask questions and develop understanding.
ACM Interactive Health Conference
Authors: Hasibur Rahman, Kenji Numata, Evelyn T Lai, Maria Cheriyan, Adrian Haimovich, Kei Ouchi, Smit Desai
Research on the feasibility and acceptability of a voice agent in the emergency department.
9:12–9:24 AM · Barcelona time
CHI 2026 · P1, Room 128 · Barcelona
Authors: Menglin Zhao, Zhuorui Yong, Ruijia Guan, Kai-Wei Chang, Adrian Haimovich, Kei Ouchi, Timothy Bickmore, Zhan Zhang, Bingsheng Yao, Dakuo Wang, Smit Desai
Interviews with 11 emergency care providers map the barriers to serious illness conversations, from patient identification and preparation to the conversation and documentation.
2:15–3:45 PM and 4:30–6:00 PM · Barcelona time
CHI 2026 · Poster areas 1, 2, and 3 · Barcelona
Authors: Niharika Mathur, Hasibur Rahman, Smit Desai
A study with 70 participants examined how polite, warm, and accommodating voice assistants affect older adults’ perceptions of explanations.
CHI 2026 · Barcelona
Authors: Hasibur Rahman, Smit Desai
How does an agent’s personality change the way people experience it? A travel-planning study with 150 participants examined low, medium, and high expression across the Big Five traits.
CHI 2026 · Barcelona
Authors: Manasi Atul Vaidya, Ryan Bruggeman, Jessie Chin, Maitraye Das, Smit Desai
Through co-design workshops, the team built and studied MemoryBox: a system that combines photos, music, and voice conversation to support reminiscence and storytelling.
5:00 PM · Eastern time
BostonCHI · Center for Design, Northeastern University
Speaker: Smit Desai
How conversational AI is becoming a social actor, and what intentionally designed personalities mean for trust, transparency, and emotional influence.
Smit Desai directs CHAI Lab at Northeastern University, where his work examines human experience, mental models, and conversational AI design.
CHAI Lab Public Talk Series · Virtual
Speaker: Samuel Rhys Cox · Aalborg University
A discussion of personalization, latency, and nudging in emotional and health contexts. The first talk in CHAI Lab’s 2026 public series.
CHAI Lab Public Talk Series
Interested in sharing your research with the CHAI community?
