Research

Since the introduction of ChatGPT in 2022, large language models have surged in popularity; the computational demands of these tools have led to a significant rise in data center development—and public backlash. Using news and social media discourse as proxies, we aim to understand how people discuss this issue and the potential implications for policymakers, researchers, and the media that may follow.

Social emotional learning (SEL) is commonly taught in elementary schools, but lack of personnel and resources make it hard to provide individualized instruction. To inform our design, we analyzed interviews (N=5) and classroom observations (N=7) from teachers and noted common themes and takeaways. Using these themes and takeaways, we designed an AI-powered robot coach that can teach SEL lessons to students following a provided lesson plan (composed of interaction "stages"). We predict that the condition with more robot emotion (fictional self-disclosure) will increase the depth and effectiveness of the interaction.