
Jennifer is an Embedded Ethics Fellow in partnership with HAI and the Computer Science department. Jennifer Chien earned a Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of California, San Diego, and a bachelor's degree in Computer Science from Wellesley College. Jennifer is an interdisciplinary researcher, combining philosophical analysis and technical knowledge of AI pipelines to support safer, more responsible AI. Their work centers user agency, linking technical decisions with their social consequences to characterize, measure, and mitigating disparities in autonomy. This includes work exploring instrumental, cognitive and affective, and epistemic forms of agency. Their work on agency extends beyond research, at UCSD, they served as President of Graduate Women in Computing, leading numerous workshops and programming for mentorship, outreach, and community-building. They are the recipient of the Graduate Fellowship for STEM Diversity, the Doctoral Awards for Contributions to Diversity and to Service and Leadership, as well as the Xilinx Women in Technology University Grant.