Webinar: Agency in Human-AI Interactions
Zoom Link: https://zoom.us/j/95927317575?pwd=YHGi1fVCD0n75j3ajMwq3hssstU959.1
Meeting ID: 95927317575
Meeting Password: 345814
Generative AI is rapidly transforming how people learn and work.
Yet an essential question remains: when does AI enhance human agency, and when does it quietly undermine it?
In this webinar, Professor Hamsa Bastani will share recent research on the behavioral and economic dynamics of human–AI interaction. Drawing primarily from evidence in education, she will examine:
How generative AI can harm learning by undermining productive struggle
How human-AI collaboration can backfire without effective design and incentive alignment.
While much of the empirical work comes from education, the session will also briefly explore related applications in health and situate these findings within a broader framework for designing AI systems that support human flourishing.
These insights are especially relevant for practitioners in the social sector who are developing AI tools for students, patients, and farmers, where sustaining human agency is critical for long-term impact.
The webinar will include a research presentation followed by a moderated discussion and audience Q&A.
About the Speaker
Hamsa Bastani is an Associate Professor of Operations, Information, and Decisions at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. Her research focuses on developing novel machine learning algorithms for data-driven decision-making, with applications to healthcare operations, social good, and revenue management. Her work has received several recognitions, including the Wagner Prize for Excellence in Practice (2021), the Pierskalla Award for the best paper in healthcare (2016, 2019, 2021), the Behavioral OM Best Paper Award (2021), as well as first place in the George Nicholson and MSOM student paper competitions (2016). She previously completed her PhD at Stanford University, and spent a year as a Herman Goldstine postdoctoral fellow at IBM Research.