Joel Fischer

Bio

I’m Professor of Human-Computer Interaction at the School of Computer Science, University of Nottingham, UK, where I am a member of the Mixed Reality Lab, and affiliated with the Cobot Maker Space, and the Responsible Digital Futures group. My research in Human-AI Interaction takes a human-centred view to understand adoption and embedding of AI-infused technologies into everyday life and work to benefit societies. My research is interdisciplinary, combining methods and approaches from the social sciences, design, and computing. I have a particular interest in language- and speech-based (‘conversational’) interaction. My team studies collaborative robotics and AI-driven applications in a diverse range of settings from digital contact tracing and robots in social care to home life, and from creative and public engagement to issues such as cultural (mis-)alignment of image generators, to LLMs in legal advice.

I am currently Co-Investigator and Research Pillar Lead on Responsible AI UK, Research Director on the UKRI Trustworthy Autonomous Systems TAS Hub and a Co-I on the Horizon Digital Economy centre on “Trusted Data-Driven Products”.

Previously I co-lead the Smart Products Beacon project ‘RoboClean’ on ‘Human-Robot Collaboration for Allergen-Aware Factory Cleaning’ in manufacturing environments, and was a Co-I on EPSRC IoFT Network+ project ‘IoT-enhanced factory cleaning’, and a Co-I on DFID Transform-funded project ‘ALTCAI’ focusing on conversational technologies for health advice-giving. I was a site PI on the EPSRC A-IoT project on the design of interaction mechanisms and user interfaces for a future Autonomous Internet of Things (A-IoT). I was a Co-I on the UbiDesign project on design engineering processes that utilise real-time sensor based information and ubiquitous computing (Ubicomp).  I was a Co-I on the CharIoT project supporting non-profit energy advice work, and I have received EPSRC Impact Accelerator Account funding to increase the impact of the Chariot Energy Kit to for domestic environmental monitoring and sense making to support decision making. My post doc research on the EPSRC ORCHID platform grant focused on user­-centred explorations of smart future energy systems and disaster response.

My research has been published in over 140 publications in leading conferences and journals in HCI (e.g., CHI, ToCHI, CSCW, UbiComp) and AI (e.g., AAMAS, IJCAI, JAIR), and has been awarded Best Paper awards at CHI 2024, CUI 2022, CUI 2019, CHI 2018, AAMAS 2015, CHI 2013, and CHI 2011. I have previously worked at Fraunhofer Germany and interned at (formerly Xerox) PARC in the US. I have obtained my PhD in 2011 from the University of Nottingham. My PhD thesis is entitled ‘Understanding Receptivity to Interruptions in Mobile HCI’.