Veda Duddu
Please feel free to get in touch with me!
I'm an HCI researcher currently trying to build methodology around a simple question: how do people understand the systems they use, and how should those systems be designed with that understanding in mind?
I came to CS through mathematics at Ashoka University in India, where I graduated with a BS (Honors) in Math and CS. I tend to think about computing problems through a cognitive and social lens, not just a technical one. I currently TA for CS 173: Discrete Mathematics at UIUC. I am advised by Koustuv Saha and will be continuing my PhD under him.
Outside the lab, I'm a polyglot (English, Hindi, Kannada, Telugu — and slowly, Japanese), follow tennis and cricket with more investment than is probably reasonable, and read across more genres and formats than I can keep track of. I'm also interested in philosophy of mind, the ethics of technology, and occasional deep dives into topics that have nothing to do with my work but somehow always connect back to it. The blog is where those threads live.
Research
Current Work
2024–2026
AI Coaching & Trust Calibration in Negotiations
Designed and ran a 267-person experiment on Trucey, an AI negotiation coach. Conversational AI reduced fear but degraded human judgment — imposing cognitive load under stress and undermining integrative thinking. Cognitive profiles predicted when AI guidance helped vs. harmed.
2025–2026
Mutual Theory of Mind in AI-Assisted Education
Investigated trust-reliance dynamics in AI-assisted learning contexts. Users pragmatically relied on AI despite accuracy concerns — revealing a disconnect between stated trust and actual reliance behavior, and how students calibrate (or fail to) their trust in AI vs. human responses.
2024–2025
RL Agent Misalignment
Experiments on model organisms of misalignment in Minecraft RL environments. Empirically documented alignment failures including mesa-optimizer objective resistance, reward hacking via underground tunneling, and instrumental convergence failures.
Publications
Papers & Preprints
✱ denotes equal contribution
Inform, Coach, Relate, Listen: Auditing LLM Caregiving Support Roles
Under review · Preprint
When AI Supports Emotionally Demanding Service Work: Experimental Evidence from Customer Service Interactions
AI and the Future of Work 2026 - Wharton Human-AI Research
Not My Truce: Personality Differences in AI-Mediated Workplace Negotiation
Under review · Preprint
Do We Know What They Know We Know? Calibrating Student Trust in AI and Human Responses Through Mutual Theory of Mind
CHI 2026 Extended Abstracts · ACM
Does AI Coaching Prepare Us for Workplace Negotiations?
Under review · Preprint
News
Recent Updates
- May 2026 Gave my first lightning talk at the AI Impact Workshop 2026
- Mar 2026 Paper accepted at AI and the Future of Work 2026: When AI Supports Emotionally Demanding Service Work
- Feb 2026 Paper accepted at CHI 2026 Extended Abstracts: Do We Know What They Know We Know?
Blog
Recent Writing
Concepts I'm chewing on, rabbit holes, things that don't fit in a paper.
All posts →