Rohini Srihari Uses AI to Help People with Motor Neuron Diseases Communicate

Rohini Srihari, associate department chair and associate professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering, was featured on The Academic Minute for her work using artificial intelligence to help people with ALS, cerebral palsy and other motor neuron diseases communicate more naturally. Her research focuses on personalizing large language models so communication devices can understand a user’s experiences, personality and conversational preferences.

Rohini Srihari was highlighted for developing an AI system that listens to conversations and generates several possible responses for users to select or modify. The technology aims to help people move beyond short, functional messages and participate in longer, more meaningful conversations. Srihari and her team are testing the system with users and running the models on powerful supercomputers, with the goal of making the technology widely available.

The report is featured on NPR, the American Association of Colleges and Universities, and other websites.