Assistant Professor of Computer Science Sarah Morrison-Smith recently presented an invited talk for the Human Factors Seminar at Tufts University. Her virtual talk, titled “HCI for Good and Evil,” she explored how both sides of human-computer influence (HCI) shapes how people experience technology, sometimes empowering, sometimes exploiting.
She discussed how design choices can enhance accessibility, autonomy, and inclusion, or conversely, how they can manipulate users through deceptive interfaces known as dark patterns. Using real-world examples of “evil” designs, she showed how interface choices can erode trust and user control.
Morrison-Smith examined “HCI for good” through the lens of assistive technologies and universal design principles that benefit users with disabilities while improving usability for all. Drawing from accessibility research, co-design practices, and advocacy in technology design, she argued that resistance through design – such as building transparency and accessibility in from the start – is the most powerful path toward ethical, equitable computing.
She said that ultimately, each designer, developer, and researcher holds the power to decide, and asked, “Will your interface empower or exploit?”
Morrison-Smith demonstrated Pectogram in Denver, at the 27th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility. She described Pectogram as “a generative AI-augmented Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) designed to support non-speaking individuals by transforming natural language text into PECS-style image cards in real time.”
She said that “augmentative and alternative communication (acc) users often face barriers when communicating with people unfamiliar with their systems, especially in unpredictable or dynamic contexts.
“By dynamically bridging vocabulary gaps and enabling inclusive, on-demand visual communication, Pectogram opens new opportunities for accessible, culturally responsive acc technologies,” Morrison-Smith said. She also discussed the product’s potential and opportunities for co-design and user-centered evaluation with acc users and their communication partners. The presentation was the culmination of a project with Ethan Connolly ’25, Soren Lera ’26, and Leah Reed ’26.
Posted November 4, 2025
