How would you describe your work in 90 seconds?

In my research, I look at how to integrate machines into human environments. One central question is: How can we make it easier for people to live, even coexist, with intelligent systems around us? My research is about creating natural interaction between humans and machines for machines to understand complex human situations and for people to easily understand what machines are up to, making these processes more transparent. If you take Artificial Intelligence (AI), for example – AI agents can be virtual or embedded into a physical machine, such as a robot or a drone. The idea is for intelligent systems, these machines, to understand what we are doing, and for us to understand what they are doing. It is about communication so we can share the same space and live together.

How did you get in touch with informatics?

As far as I can remember, I always wanted to be an astronaut, and in some ways, informatics felt like the path to this dream. Growing up, I was always embedded in some engineering or computer science environment. I grew up surrounded by helicopters and pilots, and we always had a computer at home, which at the time was special. These things were always in my immediate environment. Also, I loved mathematics, so I think it was very natural for me to go in this direction. I eventually went from mathematics to computer science; it was really a small step.

Where do you see the connection between your research and everyday life?

We use machines every day, right? You have a phone, maybe a smartwatch, and some people have smart glasses. Computers are all around us. People use various devices in their homes, such as Alexa or Google Home. Everything is about how you interact with them and whether they can help you achieve your goals. We look at all kinds of interactions, whether people are using touch or voice, looking at notifications or interruptions, but also how devices can communicate information back to people. All of that is about the field of human-computer interaction, and this is what we do in our daily lives as humans. Some of these interactions are natural and easy, but others are pretty complex. The goal of the field is to make interactions between people and machines seamless, almost like magic!

What makes you happy in your work?

I love what I’m doing, and I am passionate about it. Seeing peoples’ lives made easier by technology is important to me. Often, you see people struggling in their daily lives because they can’t use a computer or a piece of software. So, once you start having autonomous cars, what happens if you can’t tell the autonomous car to go where you want to go? You end up getting stuck and nobody moves on the street, which is problematic. It is about envisioning a future where life becomes easier for people through the different intelligent systems that we have around us. Being an academic is also about working with students and thinking about the next generation of researchers, about getting their ideas out there and training them to think differently, more critically about the world; to learn to think, to reflect, to accept different views and perspectives. As academics, we are very lucky to be able to research problems that we believe in, and I really enjoy this part of it.

Why do you think there are still so few women in computer science?

Historically, there used to be more women in computing. I believe there is something societal about how we position gender and roles, things that are meant for boys, and things that are meant for girls. We create societies that are gendered, with specific roles. Somehow, mathematics and computer science tend to be pushed into the realm of boys, which makes no sense. If you work in computing, there is a lot of flexibility: you can work from anywhere, anytime, so it is ideal for women, and even more so with kids. The numbers are too low, and I believe that through different endeavors, we can change things and reach out to more girls, early on. When we do outreach in schools, we sometimes see girls telling us that mathematics is hard and it is for boys, and they are still so young, so you ask yourself, who put that in their heads? This is something we need to work on because there is no reason why there shouldn’t be more women in computer science. Also, human-computer interaction and human-robot interaction tend to have more women than some other fields of computer science, so maybe developing technology for people is the key!

Jessica Cauchard is Professor of Artifact-based Computing and User Research at TU Wien Informatics. Jessica Cauchard will hold a joint Inaugural Lecture on November 12, 2024; 17:00 CEST at EI 9, Gußhausstraße together with Paweł W. Woźniak and Daniel Müller-Gritschneder.

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