Speaking
Everything I speak about comes out of my research on Socially Robust AI — how people actually speak, who they are, and the sociopolitical institutions around them.
Research talks
Department seminars, lab visits, colloquia, and guest lectures. Send me the event and the date, and I'll follow up with a title and abstract.
Request a SeminarStudents & outreach
Student orgs, clubs, K–12, and community groups. No AI background required. These are some of my favorite talks to give — send me the group and the date.
Request a TalkMedia & general public
Press interviews, podcasts, and public events. I translate AI research for general audiences. Send me your outlet and your deadline.
Media InquiryCompanies & organizations
Talks and workshops for companies are paid engagements, built around your team and the tools they actually use. Tell me what you need, who's in the room, and your timeline.
Request a QuoteTalks
Socially Robust AI
My research program end to end: methods, benchmarks, and audits for AI robustness in socially complex situations — across how people speak, who they are, and the structures around them.
Is AI Robust to How People Actually Talk?
Real speech is full of “um”s, restarts, and slips of the tongue — and today's speech and language systems often break on it. What goes wrong, and how to test for it.
Slides
Who Does AI Work For?
Why voice assistants and chatbots work better for some people than others — and how your accent, gender, and way of talking shape how AI treats you.
I talked about this on the MASKulinity Podcast
Listen
Accountable AI
Move too fast and you skip the guardrails; move too slow and you miss the upside. This talk is about the middle: where AI strengthens a process, and when to keep a human-in-the-loop.
“Grateful to Maria for a talk that actually changed how we're thinking, not just what we're thinking about.” — Alyssa Franklin, CEO, IPT Global IPT Global builds safety-critical software that verifies oil and gas well integrity, where a missed failure can mean a blowout.
Slides
10 Ways You Can Use AI Right Now
A practical walk through what today's AI tools are genuinely good at, what they should never be trusted with, and the guardrails worth keeping around them — grounded in my research on where these systems really fail people.
“Maria’s presentation brilliantly bridged the gap between AI theory and practical application. The real-world examples she shared gave me immediate ideas I can implement in my work. [She] made AI feel approachable and actionable rather than intimidating. Her ability to explain complex concepts in clear, relatable terms was exceptional.” — Paul Penland, Executive Vice President, JLL
Slides
The Other AI: An Intuitive Understanding of AI
How do tools like ChatGPT actually work? A no-background-needed tour of what these systems can and can't do.
Slides
How Does AI Work? & My Research
A friendly walk through how language models work, plus what a PhD in this area actually looks like day to day. I love doing these for student groups.
“She was very approachable and amazing at detailing her work and explaining it in a way that anyone could understand. I have personally worked very little with AI and understanding how it works, so her talk was very informative and one of the most memorable we've had.” — Vivian Combs, President, C.A.F.E.
“Maria is extremely passionate about her research and about introducing graduate school to others. She is very motivated to help other people and cares about others success.” — Alyssa Garabedian, Vice President, C.A.F.E.
