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College of Design

Valeria López Torres, Ph.D.

VL
Valeria Lopez-Torres

Assistant Professor of Graphic & Experience Design

Bio

Dr. Valeria López Torres (she/her/hers) is a designer, researcher, and educator specializing in human-AI interaction, interaction design, and UX/UI.

Her work incorporates interdisciplinary perspectives to address how design and technology shape lived experiences; and how humans think, work, live alongside, and build affective bonds with technology.

Her most recent research focuses on long-term affective relationships with AI social chatbots, which she is currently expanding into an Authenticity-based Design Framework to guide multimodal interactions with complex AI systems and other forms of non-humanness that communicate, learn, make decisions, and actively participate in design.

Areas of Expertise:

  • Human-AI Interaction\Experience Design
  • Design with/for/along non-humans\
  • More-than-human Experiences
  • Explainable AI (XAI)
  • Interaction Design
  • UX/UI

Publications:

*Before and After Lockdown: A Longitudinal Study of Human-AI Relationships* (Lopez Torres, 2023)

Education

Ph.D. in Design University of Minnesota, Twin Cities

M.A. in Design University of Minnesota, Twin Cities

B.S. in Communication & Media Studies Universidad Salesiana, Mexico City

Groups