Faculty Spotlight: Shihong Huang

Shihong Huang, teaching professor in the Information Systems Program, uses software engineering to improve how humans and systems cooperate symbiotically to carry out tasks with mutual adaptation to optimize performance. 

Tell me about your scholarly work. 

Autonomous systems can make their own decisions, but in many cases these systems can benefit from the involvement of humans. I am interested in human–system co-adaptation, where we use human monitoring and other input to optimize human–computer collaboration. I focus on how humans adjust their behavior to the system and how the system adjusts its behavior to the human’s mental state. Both partners are mutually adapting to each other to achieve goals that cannot be done by either alone.

How is your scholarly work adding to the greater field?

Today we are seeing the increasing use of artificial intelligence (AI) to make autonomous decisions. By including humans explicitly in our designs involving AI, we can improve the effectiveness of these systems. The question is how and when to get a human involved and how to get both the human and the system to adapt to each other over time.

This research is highly interdisciplinary, where I work with software engineers and psychologists to better understand how to bring humans effectively into this loop in a way that takes account of differences in personality traits, mood, motivation and capability.

How did you become interested in this topic?

I first became interested in the relationship between software systems design, on the one hand, and neuroscience and human behavior, on the other. I found it fascinating how it is now possible to use an EEG (electroencephalogram) and other forms of monitoring to determine a human’s mental state. I wanted to see how we might take advantage of that knowledge to improve the capability of systems with which we interact.

What are you most excited to accomplish as a faculty member at CMU?

CMU has such a wonderful community, environment and culture that is so deeply, deeply unique. This is the birthplace of AI, with an extraordinary legacy shaped by our pioneering scientists who have transformed the field. People at CMU cherish this community and culture. It provides fertile ground for innovation and opportunity. Working within this environment, I want to be the professor who nurtures the next generation of scientists, engineers and information systems students. I want to give them the best that I have — to support them and be a role model. Having benefited from many good mentors myself, I want to give back to my students at CMU.

What are your goals for the next generation of scholars?

I want students to pursue their passions. Don’t just focus on what is fashionable at the moment or what will lead to a job or internship; pursue what you are passionate about. If you are passionate about a topic, you will succeed. My role is to help students discover and realize their potential so they can achieve something that will elevate society to a higher place than it is today.

The Faculty Spotlight series features new and junior faculty at the Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences at Carnegie Mellon University. Stay tuned for our next installment to learn more about the dynamic and engaging research and scholarly work being conducted in the college.