Paoponder

Hi! I'm Pao.

I am an Human-Computer Interaction researcher based in Seattle. I study and build software that support thinking and creative expressions.

I write about creativity, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and people here on Paoponder.com and my newsletter, This might be wrong.

Work and education

I am an applied research scientist at AI2 on the Semantic Scholar Research Team.

Before AI2, I was 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.

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 😉.