Shiza Ali

Research Scientist, The Institute for Trustworthy AI in Law & Society (TRAILS)

I study how people understand, trust, and respond to AI systems, with a focus on human-centered AI, online safety, and the design of trustworthy sociotechnical systems.

Portrait of Shiza Ali

My research combines human factors, security, privacy, and human-centered AI to examine how people interpret AI-generated content, authenticity signals, and other high-stakes forms of online information. I use user studies, interviews, and behavioral experiments to understand how design choices shape trust, safety perceptions, and decision-making.
Previously, I worked with the RAISE Lab on bias in AI-generated co-authorship networks. I earned my PhD from Boston University, where I was part of the Security Lab (SeclaBU) and collaborated with iDrama Lab and STIR Lab on detecting youth exploitation, disinformation, and coordinated abuse across social media platforms. Read more about my research here.

My work has been published in top-tier venues including ACM CHI, CSCW, and IEEE S&P and has been reported by WIRED. My research has been supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) .

News

2025 News (click to reveal)
July
good news Started Research Scientist position at The Institute for Trustworthy AI in Law & Society (TRAILS).
2025 News (click to reveal)
July
good news Started Research Scientist position at The Institute for Trustworthy AI in Law & Society (TRAILS).
2024 News (click to reveal)
August
good news Started postdoc at the University of Washington.
May
good news Defended my PhD thesis. You can call me a doc now!!
2024 News (click to reveal)
August
good news Started postdoc at the University of Washington.
May
good news Defended my PhD thesis. You can call me a doc now!!
2023 News (click to reveal)
December
good news Gave a talk on "Tackling Malicious Activity Online" at the University of Iowa.
November
good news I was awarded "Rising Star in Social Computing and Tech Policy" by University of Iowa.
October
good news Our paper "Sliding into My DMs" received the Impact Recognition award!
August
good news I got selected for the SIGCHI Gary Marsden Travel Award.
May
good news I received Research PhD Fellowship Finalist Award at Meta.
April
good news Our papers titled "Getting Meta" and "Sliding into My DMs" got accepted at CSCW'23. Two papers yaayy!!
2023 News (click to reveal)
December
good news Gave a talk on "Tackling Malicious Activity Online" at the University of Iowa.
November
good news I was awarded "Rising Star in Social Computing and Tech Policy" by University of Iowa.
October
good news Our paper "Sliding into My DMs" received the Impact Recognition award!
August
good news I got selected for the SIGCHI Gary Marsden Travel Award.
May
good news I received Research PhD Fellowship Finalist Award at Meta.
April
good news Our papers titled "Getting Meta" and "Sliding into My DMs" got accepted at CSCW'23. Two papers yaayy!!
2022 News (click to reveal)
August
good news My paper "Understanding the Digital Lives of Youth" got the Honorable Mention Award at CHI'22!
April
good news Our paper titled "Understanding the Digital Lives of Youth" got accepted at CHI'22!
2022 News (click to reveal)
August
good news My paper "Understanding the Digital Lives of Youth" got the Honorable Mention Award at CHI'22!
April
good news Our paper titled "Understanding the Digital Lives of Youth" got accepted at CHI'22!

My Blog

Read my blog on "Unlocking the Power of Multimodal Analysis for Safer Online Spaces"

Stay tuned for more!!