Hi! I am Sushmita!
email: sushmik[at]clemson[dot]edu social media: sushmitakhan.bsky.social
I am a Human-Centered Computing PhD Candidate at Clemson University, where I research AI Accessibility, Literacy, and Privacy. I am advised by Dr. Bart Knijnenburg. My research, driven by the fundamental goal of empowering users to build autonomy, discernment, and informed agency in their use of AI systems, seeks to answer the following broader question:
“How can we design sociotechnical systems that actively foster equity, autonomy, and discernment?”
I employ participatory, user-centered, and mixed methods that position vulnerable users, particularly children and neurodivergent individuals, as primary informants, designers, testers, and end-users of the sociotechnical systems that shape their lives. My research on AI accessibility involves designing and evaluating novel interaction techniques that accommodate individuals with ADHD and, more broadly, neurodivergent users. My research on AI and Privacy literacy utilizes data visualization to enhance children's and younger adults' understanding of AI systems.
News and Updates
-- I am serving as the Accessibility co-chair at RecSys 2026, along with the amazing Helma Torkamaan
-- Our short paper, "Balancing Openness and Safety: Central and Peripheral Governance Practices in the Lesbian Subreddit Ecosystem" was accepted at CHI 2026! (Acceptance Rate: 38.4%)
-- I was invited to talk about children and young adult privacy at the Stupid Sexy Privacy Podcast, available here
-- Our paper, "Inclusive Recommender Systems: Addressing Needs of Users with ADHD" was accepted at TORS 2025! I am BEYOND excited for this work, because not only is this work the product of my independent research inquiry, but it is also something I deeply care about!
-- Our Late Breaking Work "Personalized Preference Profiles for Preference Discovery" was accepted at UMAP 2025!
-- Invited to Talk on "AI and Privacy education for Children" at Nokia Bell Labs, 2024
-- Invited to Talk on "AI Education Contextualized in Privacy for Children" at Cybersecurity at MIT Sloan, 2024
-- Invited to Talk on "User-Centered Approaches to Inclusive Recommender Systems Design" at the Intelligent Systems Department at University of Pittsburgh, 2024
-- Our paper "Digital Privacy Education: Customized Interventions for U.S. Older and Younger Adults in Rural and Urban Settings" has been accepted to Technology in Society (June, 2024)
-- Our paper "Participatory Design to Address Disclosure-Based Cyber Bullying" has been accepted to DIS 2024!
-- Travel Grant, Clemson University Human Factors Institute, 2024
-- Our paper "Teaching Middle Schoolers about the Privacy Threats of Tracking and Pervasive Personalization: A Classroom Intervention Using Design-Based Research" has been accepted to CHI 2024!
-- Our poster "Evaluating ADHD Users' experience with Recommender Systems" has been accepted to IUI 2024!
-- Finalist, Meta PhD Fellowship, Privacy and Data practices, 2023
-- CRA Widening Participant Grad Cohort, 2023
-- NSF Travel Grant to attend PrivaCI Symposium, (Award ID 2240232), 2022
-- Usenix Diversity Grant, 2021