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Takuya Maeda

Ph.D. Student
Western University
tmaeda@uwo.ca


About Me

Hi! I’m Takuya.

I am a 2nd year PhD student at the Faculty of Information and Media Studies at Western University, examining the ethical implications of anthropomorphic design in emerging technologies. In particular, my work explores how human-like features affect interactive dynamics between users and technical systems, changing the ways people communicate and perceive information. My work is jointly supervised by Prof. Luke Stark and Prof. Anabel Quan-Haase. Besides FIMS, I'm affiliated with the Rotman Institute of Philosophy and Starling Centre.

In addition to my own research, I am currently engaging in a number of research projects, including (1) a project related to regulatory practices around emerging technologies, and (2) a project on AI literacy and digital divide funded by SSHRC Knowledge Synthesis Grants. I'm also interested in the perceptions and use of generative AI systems among students, learning about how generative AI systems affect education.

Previously, I completed a master’s program in information science and engineering at the Nara Institute of Science and Technology, where I studied natural language processing and explored research topics related to social computing, health informatics, online abuse and hate speech, and ethics in NLP.

Research Areas

I like to incorporate approaches from critical HCI, communication, and STS, revisiting theories of 'Computers Are Social Actors' and affordances to investigate the impact of technology-mediated communication.

News

Conference and Journal Papers

  1. Arxiv
    Walkthrough of Anthropomorphic Features in AI Assistant Tools
    Takuya Maeda
    Arxiv, 2025.
    PDF
  2. AIES
    Misplaced Capabilities: Evaluating the Risks of Anthropomorphism in Human-AI Interactions
    Takuya Maeda
    Extended Abstract/Poster, AAAI/ACM Conference on Artificial Intelligence, Ethics, and Society (AIES), 2024.
    PDF Poster
  3. FAccT
    When Human-AI Interactions Become Parasocial: Agency and Anthropomorphism in Affective Design
    Takuya Maeda, Anabel Quan-Haase
    ACM Conference on Fairness, Accountability, and Transparency (FAccT), 2024.
    PDF

  4. Journal
    Between Fact and Fabrication: How Visual Art Might Nurture Environmental Consciousness
    Rebecca Buening, Takuya Maeda, Kongmeng Liew, Eiji Aramaki
    Frontiers in Psychology, 2022.
    PDF

Recent Awards

Workshops&DC

Conference & Panel

Grants

Other Recent Experience

Teaching

Western University

Reearch Collaboration

Review

Volunteer


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