Hi! I'm Pao.
I am a software engineer based in New York City. I build software that aids good thinking and helps people generate and express creative ideas.
I write about creativity, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and people here on Paoponder.com and my newsletter, This might be wrong.
Work and education
As a Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) researcher who builds systems, I wear many hats. For the same project, I can be a UX designer, a product manager, a software engineer, and a data scientist.
Now, I am a technical lead at B12, a startup aiming to bring a brighter future of work with AI. My projects at B12 use automation to boost the productivity of web designers, copywriters, and project managers.
Before B12, I finished my Ph.D. in Computer Science working in Intelligent Interactive Systems Group at Harvard University. I did my B.S. in Electrical Engineering and M.S. in Computer Science at Stanford University.
For more details, see my LinkedIn page.
Research
I design and study tools for creatives and thinkers. My research explores ways to apply intelligent technologies to help people think and come up with creative ideas.
Beyond individuals' creativity, I am interested in crowd innovation and how we, as society, can make good decisions on public policies together.
Fun facts
I grew up in Bangkok, Thailand. I spent my past 15 years in the United states. I have lived in the Bay Area, Boston, Seattle (in summer 😎), and finally NYC.
My fun time involves rolling on a mat in an Aikido dojo, watercolor painting, and reading. I love traveling and sketching on site. My secondary hobbies are playing piano/ukulele, Go, and Kendama.
Sketches
I once dreamed of becoming a manga artist. Now I sketch and paint in my free time. You can see more of my sketches on my Instagram page.
Newsletter
I sporadically send out a newsletter about AI, creativity, and cognition. It's called This might be wrong. If you are interested in following along, sign up at your own risk below 😉.