Sylvia Crow - PhD Researcher

Sylvia Crow

What expertise will you bring to AI?

I've spent years as a user researcher and service designer across public and private sectors, watching organisations build things that made perfect sense on paper and absolutely none in reality. AI has the same risk. While we can build incredible technology, if it doesn't fit into people's lives, workflows, and values, it won't have the impact we hope for.

I hope to bring a perspective that starts with humans rather than technology. Sometimes the most valuable question isn't "Can we build this?" but "Should we?".

Research Interests

I'm fascinated by how people make sense of language.

My background in linguistics, translation, and psychology taught me that meaning isn't simply contained in words. We create meaning through context, experience, assumptions, and interpretation.

That's one reason I'm drawn to law. People often assume legal texts mean exactly what they say, but understanding them is rarely that straightforward. A label on a tin only helps if you know what kind of tin you're holding. Is it spaghetti bolognese, cat food, or one-coat vinyl paint?

The same questions are becoming increasingly important in AI. Large language models are incredibly good at producing language, but I'm interested in what happens next: how people interpret it, trust it, challenge it, and use it to make decisions. Understanding language is one thing. Understanding how humans understand language is what fascinates me.

What made you want to apply for CCAI?

What attracted me to CCAI was the opportunity to explore AI from different perspectives and alongside people from different disciplines. Some of the most interesting questions in AI aren't about what the technology can do, but how people interact with it, trust it, regulate it, and ultimately make it part of everyday life.

My interest in these questions comes from my work exploring how people understand language and law, particularly vulnerable individuals navigating the Employment Tribunal system without legal representation. For many litigants in person, the challenge isn't simply accessing information but understanding it, trusting it, and knowing how to act on it.

AI has the potential to help bridge that gap, but only if we understand the human challenges alongside the technical ones. CCAI felt like an opportunity to contribute to those conversations and learn from others asking similar questions from different perspectives.

What are your ambitions for AI? How do you plan to change the world?

I'd settle for it making the world slightly less confusing.