About Me
I’m a human-AI interaction researcher who designs, builds, and tests systems to improve how people work together. My goal is to create AI-driven tools that make groups more effective, cohesive, and inclusive — be they small teams in workplace meetings or massive online communities on platforms like Wikipedia. I’m currently finishing up a PhD in Computer Science, co-advised by Loren Terveen and Stevie Chancellor. My dissertation work explores how interactive AI can improve group outcomes by socially buffering the exchange of feedback between peers.
Update: I’m defending my dissertation in a few months and will be on the job market soon! If you are (or will be in the future) recruiting for an industry position I might be a good fit for, please reach out via email or LinkedIn. I’m open to research scientist, user researcher, product manager, and other related roles. For more info about my education and work experience, please see my LinkedIn and/or resume (last updated June 2024).
My Research
Downloadable copies of my first author publications are available below. You can also find a comprehensive list of all my publications on my Google Scholar profile.
M. Houtti, A. Roy, N. Gangula, A.M. Walker. 2024. A Survey of Scam Exposure, Victimization, Types, Vectors, and Reporting in 12 Countries. Journal of Online Trust and Safety. https://doi.org/10.54501/jots.v2i4.204. (PDF)
M. Houtti, I. Johnson, L. Terveen. 2024. Leveraging Recommender Systems to Reduce Content Gaps on Peer Production Platforms. International AAAI Conference on Web and Social Media (ICWSM). https://doi.org/10.1609/icwsm.v18i1.31339. (PDF)
M. Houtti, M. Zhou, L. Terveen, S. Chancellor. 2023. “All of the White People Went First”: How Video Conferencing Consolidates Control and Exacerbates Workplace Bias. Proceedings of the ACM on Human‑Computer Interaction (CSCW). https://doi.org/10.1145/3579597. (PDF)
M. Houtti, I. Johnson, J. Cepeda, S. Khandelwal, A. Bhatnagar, L. Terveen. 2022. “We Need a Woman in Music”: Exploring Wikipedia’s Values on Article Priority. Proceedings of the ACM on Human‑Computer Interaction (CSCW). https://doi.org/10.1145/3555156. (PDF)
C. Zhang*, M. Houtti*, C.E. Smith, R. Kong, L. Terveen. 2022. Working for the Invisible Machines or Pumping Information into an Empty Void? An Exploration of Wikidata Contributors’ Motivations. Proceedings of the ACM on Human‑Computer Interaction (CSCW). https://doi.org/10.1145/3512982. (*co‑first authors) (PDF)