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SRI Seminar Series: Brad Knox – Harmful traits of AI companions – Jan 28, 2026
Session Description
January 28 2026 @ 12:30 pm - 2:00 pm
Join us for a seminar featuring the University of Texas’s Brad Knox on January 28, 2026.
Our weekly SRI Seminar Series welcomes Brad Knox, research associate professor of computer science at the University of Texas at Austin. A pioneer in human-in-the-loop reinforcement learning, Knox’s work explores how humans can teach AI systems through feedback, demonstration, and interaction. He is best known for his early contributions to reinforcement learning from human feedback, as well as his recent work on building socially engaging agents.
Knox’s current research focuses on how people specify reward functions and shape behavior in AI companions—agents designed to interact with humans over time in meaningful, responsive ways. Drawing on research in interactive machine learning and real-world deployments, Knox’s work offers a window into the future of human–AI relationships, and the technical and ethical challenges of building AI companions we can trust.
Moderator: Sheila McIlraith, Department of Computer Science
About the SRI Seminar Series
The SRI Seminar Series brings together the Schwartz Reisman community and beyond for a robust exchange of ideas that advance scholarship at the intersection of technology and society. Seminars are led by a leading or emerging scholar and feature extensive discussion.