Upol Ehsan

Assistant Professor (starting Fall 2025), Senior Research Fellow

Upol Ehsan
  • Explainable AI
  • Human–computer interaction
  • Responsible AI
  • Computing in the Global South
  • AI in health care
  • PhD in Computer Science, Georgia Institute of Technology
  • MS in Computer Science, Georgia Institute of Technology
  • BA (Hons) in Philosophy, Washington & Lee University
  • BS in Physics-Engineering, Washington & Lee University

Upol Ehsan is recruiting 1–2 PhD students for fall 2025 (more info).

Upol Ehsan is a senior research fellow and incoming professor (starting fall 2025) in the Khoury College of Computer Sciences at Northeastern University, based in Boston. He is also a fellow at Harvard University's Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society and an affiliate at Data & Society.

Ehsan is a pioneer in human-centered explainable AI (HCXAI), and strives to make AI systems responsible and explainable so that people who aren't at the table don't end up on the menu. His work has informed responsible AI policies at the United Nations, Mozilla Foundation, and the Center for Democracy and Society; drawn coverage from media outlets such as MIT Tech Review, Vice, and VentureBeat; and earned awards at top-tier venues like ACM CHI, HCII, and AAAI AIES. His work is generously supported by the NSF, DARPA, A2I, IBM, and the World Bank along with prestigious fellowships like the Prime Minister’s Innovator Award.

Before joining Khoury College, Ehsan researched with Microsoft Research's FATE team, IBM Research, and Google; led high-performing management consulting teams; and served on multiple government-level AI task forces. He serves as a board member for startups and as an advisor for Aalor Asha, an educational institute he started for children subjected to child labor. Ehsan also led editorial efforts for the inaugural ACM TiiS Journal on HCXAI and has spearheaded the organization of HCXAI workshops at CHI every year since 2021.