Zahra Ashktorab

Zahra Ashktorab is a researcher at IBM Research, specializing in human-computer interaction, conversational AI, and fairness and ethics in machine learning. Her research aims to enhance human-machine collaboration outcomes by understanding users' mental models, improving conversational systems, and ensuring fairness in AI technologies. Her current studies include exploring the role of large language models (LLMs) as evaluators, investigating the impact of AI identity disclosure on collaborative outcomes, and examining the role of humans in assessing generative AI systems. Before joining IBM Research in 2017, Zahra earned a PhD in human-computer interaction from the University of Maryland, College Park, and had interned at leading research institutions such as IBM Research and Microsoft Research.

• 2017–Present·IBM Research·Researcher
  • Focused on human-computer interaction, conversational AI, and fairness in machine learning, studying how to optimize human-machine collaboration outcomes.

• 2012–2017·University of Maryland, College Park·PhD
  • Human-Computer Interaction
  • Research focused on designing solutions and technological interventions to address online harassment.