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User Experience Researcher
Hello! I'm Tiffany Knearem. I run TK Research, an AI research and training consultancy. I'm trained as a mixed-methods human-computer interaction researcher and have led and collaborated in many research projects in a wide variety of domains. Recently, I'm most interested in topics around how we might align human values to AI systems, utilizing genAI responsibly to support human creativity, and support collaborative practices in product design. I center my work through an inclusive, sustainable, and human-centered approach.
Previously, I led UX research for a suite of design tools on Google's Material Design team. I earned my PhD at Penn State's College of Information Sciences and Technology with Dr. John M. Carroll, where I investigated community innovation through information and communication technologies, with a dissertation focus on online mutual aid as community-based care during COVID-19.
Prior to earning my PhD, I spent time in industry at Silicon Valley, where I worked in operations & project management. Before that, I taught English abroad in Japan through the JET Program. My educational background is in the humanities, having received dual Bachelor of Arts degrees in Psychology and East Asian Languages and Cultures from the University of Kansas.
tiffanyknearem at gmail dot com
News
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Nov 2025: Visited MBZUAI in Abu Dhabi, UAE to give a talk on human-centered AI alignment and an associated workshop for students of all levels. Thank you for hosting me, Prof / Dept. Chair Elizabeth Churchill
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Oct 2025: Gave a virtual invited talk at the Columbia HCI Seminar
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Sept 2025: Spoke on AI alignment in healthcare as part of the HCI in Healthcare PhD Course at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark. It was a wonderful experience, Tariq Andersen and Francisco Nunes!
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Jun 2025: Excited to join Chronicle Medical Software as a fractional PM/UXR to support the launch of two products!
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Jun 2025: Incorporated my AI research company, TK Research. We specialize in UXR and human-centered AI research, product management and corporate trainings on AI.
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Apr 2025: Our CHI 2025 Paper on Algorithmic Social Media received an honorable mention! So impressed with the lead author, Ruyuan Wan!
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Apr 2025: Our DIS paper on Generative UI tools to support UX'ers was accepted. It was a fun collaboration with Anthony Chen and Yang Li
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Apr 2025: I gave a talk at Venture Cafe Tokyo on finding product market fit through UX Research
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Mar. 2025: I'm excited to partner with SVB Boston and Boldstart Ventures to share my expertise on conducting UXR with the founders in the upcoming Inception Program cohort!
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Mar. 2025: Speaking at Swarthmore College's Sigma Xi Colloquium on the ethics of AI in civic life. Thank you for organizing, Sukrit Venkatagiri!!
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Feb. 2025: Looking forward to giving talks on the implications of AI in the civic realm during my short tour of the UK at St. Andrews University and Northumbria University with my amazing hosts Miriam Sturdee and Anna Carter!
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Feb. 2025: Our ICLR 2025 Workshop on bi-directional human-AI alignment has been accepted, and we look forward to engaging with the community
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Jan. 2025: Our CHI Special Interest Group (SIG) on Bidirectional Human-AI Alignment: Emerging Challenges and Opportunities has been accepted to CHI 2025! Excited to meet others in the community interested in this problem space
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Publication
Chen, X. A., Knearem, T., Li, Y. (2025). A Formative Study to Explore the Design of Generative UI Tools to Support UX Practitioners and Beyond. To appear, DIS 2025 arxiv: https://www.arxiv.org/abs/2501.13145
Wan. R., Tong, L., Knearem, T., Li, T. J., Huang, TKH., Wu, Q. (2025). Hashtag Re-Appropriation for Audience Control on Recommendation-Driven Social Media Xiaohongshu (rednote). CHI 2025
Shen, H., Knearem, T., Ghosh, R., Yang, Y.J., Mitra, T., Huang, Y. (2024). Valuecompass: A framework of fundamental values for human-ai alignment. arxiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2409.09586
Shen, H., Knearem, T., et al (2024) Towards Bidirectional Human-AI Alignment: A Systematic Review for Clarifications, Framework, and Future Directions. arxiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2406.09264​
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Lu, Y., Knearem, T., Dutta, S., Blass, J., Kliman-Silver, C., Bentley, F. (2024). AI Is Not Enough: A Hybrid Technical Approach to AI Adoption in UI Linting With Heuristics. CHI EA '24​.
Knearem, T., Jo, J., Alliyu, O., Carroll, J.M. (2024). Empowering Local Communities for Disaster Relief during COVID-19 through Grassroots Support. Journal of Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW).
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Lin, J., Knearem, T., Giesing, K. (2023). Relay: A Collaborative UI model for design handoff. UIST EA '23
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Knearem, T., Khwaja, M., Gao, Y., Bentley, F., Kliman-Silver, C. (2023). Exploring the future of design tooling: The role of artificial intelligence in tools for user experience professionals. CHI EA '23​
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Knearem, T., Jo, J., Tsai, C.H., Carroll, J.M. (2022). Making Community Beliefs and Capacities Visible Through Care-mongering During COVID-19. GROUP '22.​
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Knearem, T., Jo, J., Tsai, C.H., Carroll, J.M. (2021). Making Space for Support: An Exploratory Analysis of Pandemic-Response Mutual Aid Platforms. In Communities and Technology '21
Knearem, T., Jo, J., Wang, X., Carroll, J.M. (2021). Seek and Reflect: A Mobile Scavenger Hunt to Develop Community Engagement. Communities and Technology (C&T) '21​
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Knearem, T., Wang, X., Wan, J., & Carroll, J. M. (2019). Crafting in a Community of Practice: Resource Sharing as Key in Supporting Creativity. Creativity and Cognition (C&C) '19 [Link to paper] [PDF]
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Selected Publications
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