sirui-tao

field notes on research, design, craft, and the weird bits between

Pinned notes

Start here how to start doing research at ucsd A short note for prospective undergraduate and master's research interns at UC San Diego. 7 min read

technical papers i want to remember

Short notes on technical papers that changed how I explain AI systems, research artifacts, and model behavior.

4 min read · July 05, 2026

2026 hci research gen-ai reading-notes reflections
specialists, generalists, and AI as distributed cognition

A short reading note on Don Norman’s “Beyond Human Categories,” and why it helps me think about AI, research taste, and specialist/generalist work.

7 min read · July 05, 2026

2026 hci research gen-ai writing reflections
what I learned redesigning my website with an AI coding agent

A short reflection on using Codex, screenshots, and design heuristics to redesign a research portfolio over two days.

6 min read · May 23, 2026

2026 design gen-ai portfolio teaching reflections
science communication is kindness

A short reflection on why scientists should communicate publicly, and how to do it with care.

7 min read · May 20, 2026

2026 research writing science-communication public-speaking reflections
prototyping to understand humans

Some working thoughts on good HCI research in the age of AI.

15 min read · May 13, 2026

2026 hci research gen-ai prototyping reflections