Jessica Bo (photo: supplied)
Driven by a vision of ethical and dependable technology, is advancing AI systems that are as transparent as they are powerful, to safely serve people in daily life.
Bo, a second-year computer science PhD student in the , has been awarded a prestigious 2025 .
The scholarship provides $150,000 over three years to students who demonstrate leadership and a high standard of scholarly achievement in graduate studies at Canadian universities.
Bo's research focuses on improving how people understand and rely on AI, especially as generative tools like ChatGPT become more common. These systems can produce misleading or incorrect information, which may lead to over-reliance and poor decision-making. To address this, Bo is developing strategies to help users better understand and appropriately trust AI systems. Her work includes studying how people interact with AI and designing interventions to improve those interactions. She also explores ways to help users form accurate mental models of how AI works. She is supervised by Associate Professor .
鈥淚t's both exciting and challenging to contribute to the safe and responsible use of AI in everyday life,鈥 says Bo.
鈥淩eceiving the Vanier is incredibly meaningful and knowing that my work is supported is deeply validating,鈥 she adds. 鈥淚鈥檓 excited to focus my PhD research on improving how we design and evaluate AI tools 鈥 especially as they become integral to decision-making that impacts people.鈥