# Cathy Mengying Fang

> PhD Researcher in the Fluid Interfaces Group at MIT Media Lab and Apple AI/ML Scholar. Creator of research and systems studying how conversational AI, voice interfaces, wearables, and embodied haptics shape human behavior, health, emotional wellbeing, and connection.

- Website: https://cathy-mengying-fang.github.io/
- Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=eRaFR5UAAAAJ&hl=en
- Twitter / X: https://x.com/thecatfangs
- GitHub: https://github.com/cathy-mengying-fang
- Email: catfang@mit.edu
- Affiliations: MIT Media Lab (Fluid Interfaces Group), Carnegie Mellon University (BS in Mechanical Engineering & Human-Computer Interaction)

## Empirical AI & Human Flourishing

- [The AI Observatory: A Public Measure of Real-World AI Use](https://www.ai-observatory.org/) (NeurIPS 2026): Public platform and 145-feature taxonomy analyzing 24,521 real-world AI conversations and 92,493 turns across 7 sources and 52+ models. [Paper PDF](https://www.dataprovenance.org/ai_observatory.pdf)
- [Deference by Design: Pluralistic Alignment Is an Interface Problem](https://priori.chat/demo) (ICML 2026 Workshop): Introduces Priori, an interface for pluralistic AI alignment that surfaces implicit ethical and value trade-offs in LLM responses. [OpenReview](https://openreview.net/forum?id=0xprMah6Od)
- [ThoughtTrace: Understanding User Thoughts in Real-World LLM Interactions](https://thoughttrace-project.github.io/) (ICML 2026 RLxF Workshop · Best Paper Award): Large-scale dataset of 1,058 users and 10,174 private user thought annotations across 20 large language models. [arXiv:2605.20087](https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.20087)
- [How AI and Human Behaviors Shape Psychosocial Effects of Extended Chatbot Use](https://www.media.mit.edu/posts/openai-mit-research-collaboration-affective-use-and-emotional-wellbeing-in-ChatGPT/) (OpenAI–MIT Research Collaboration, 2025): Four-week randomized controlled trial ([arXiv:2503.17473](https://arxiv.org/abs/2503.17473)) and platform-scale study ([arXiv:2504.03888](https://arxiv.org/abs/2504.03888)) investigating affective use, loneliness, and emotional wellbeing on ChatGPT. Covered by MIT Technology Review, Bloomberg, and CBS News.
- [AI-Wrapped: Participatory, Privacy-Preserving Measurement of Longitudinal LLM Use In-the-Wild](https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.18415) (ACM CHI 2026): Browser-based participatory audit tool enabling users to analyze their longitudinal ChatGPT conversation histories locally ([Report](https://www.aiwrapped.org/report)).
- [AI Emotional Support Is Better Only When Chosen, But Shifts Preferences Even When It Is Not](https://arxiv.org/abs/2608.23196) (arXiv 2026): Behavioral experiments showing how user agency shapes the effectiveness and preference shifts of AI emotional support.
- [Stumbling Into AI Emotional Dependence: How Routine AI Interactions Reshape Human Connection](https://arxiv.org/abs/2606.04150) (arXiv 2026): Empirical study of how routine instrumental LLM interactions gradually transition into emotional reliance.
- [What Label Should Be Applied to Content Produced by Generative AI?](https://psyarxiv.com/hocad/) (PsyArXiv 2023): Cross-cultural study evaluating how different disclosure labels affect public perception of AI-generated media.

## Proactive, Affective & Interactive AI Systems

- [Plato's [AI]legory of the Cave](https://samch.in/projects/allegory-of-the-cave.html) (Ars Electronica Expanded 2026 · Best in Show): Interactive shadow-play installation combining physical electromagnetic blocks with an LLM-driven shadow character ([MIT Media Lab Overview](https://www.media.mit.edu/projects/allegory-of-the-cave/overview/)).
- [Leveraging AI-Generated Emotional Self-Voice to Nudge People towards their Ideal Selves](https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3706598.3713831) (ACM CHI 2025): Zero-shot emotional voice cloning of a user's own voice to deliver reflective, self-compassionate behavioral nudges.
- [Mirai: A Wearable Proactive AI "Inner-Voice" for Contextual Nudging](https://arxiv.org/pdf/2502.02370) (ACM CHI 2025): Context-aware wearable camera and audio system delivering proactive, timing-sensitive voice interventions ([Live App](https://talkwithmirai.com/), [Goldilocks Time Window Paper](https://arxiv.org/pdf/2504.09332)).
- [EmoSign: A Multimodal Dataset for Understanding Emotions in American Sign Language](https://cathy-fang.com/emosign-website/) (NeurIPS 2025 Datasets & Benchmarks): Benchmark dataset capturing facial expressions and body pose dynamics for affective computing in American Sign Language ([Paper](https://openreview.net/forum?id=J3v99a311t), [ACIIW 2026](https://doi.org/10.1109/aciiw71585.2026.11712102)).
- [LLMR: Real-time Prompting of Interactive Worlds using Large Language Models](https://llm4mr.github.io/) (ACM CHI 2024 · Best Paper Honorable Mention): Framework for real-time creation and modification of interactive 3D Mixed Reality scenes using multi-agent LLMs.
- [PhysioLLM: Supporting Personalized Health Insights with Wearables and Large Language Models](https://www.media.mit.edu/projects/physiollm/overview/) (IEEE BHI 2024 · Best Paper Award): Integrates longitudinal physiological wearable sensor streams with LLMs for personalized health reflection ([arXiv:2406.19283](https://arxiv.org/pdf/2406.19283)).
- [WatchThis: A Wearable Point-and-Ask Interface powered by Vision-Language Models](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xO0c4nU2L0c) (2024): Wrist-worn camera interface enabling deictic point-and-ask visual queries in the physical world ([Preprint PDF](https://cathy-mengying-fang.github.io/image/watchthis/WatchiThis_UIST_PrePrint.pdf)).
- [HaLLM: Enabling Waypoint Generation for Collaborative Robots using LLMs and Mixed Reality](https://arxiv.org/pdf/2403.09308) (CHI 2023 Workshop): Mixed reality interface for generating and editing collaborative robot arm trajectories via natural language.

## Embodied Haptics & Physical Interfaces

- [Purrfect Pitch: Exploring Pitch Interval Learning through an Audio-Haptic Interface](https://doi.org/10.1145/3745900.3746079) (Augmented Humans 2025): Audio-haptic wearable device that maps musical pitch intervals to spatial vibrotactile feedback ([arXiv:2508.07517](https://arxiv.org/pdf/2508.07517)).
- [ColloGraphy: An Accessible, Three-Axis Plotter for Enhancing Calligraphy Learning](https://dl.acm.org/doi/full/10.1145/3745900.3746080) (Augmented Humans 2025): Three-axis physical plotter that guides brush pressure and stroke trajectory for embodied calligraphy learning ([Paper PDF](https://cathy-mengying-fang.github.io/image/collography/ColloGraphy_TAPS_Final.pdf)).
- [VR Haptics at Home: Repurposing Everyday Objects for Casual VR Haptic Experiences](https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3544549.3585871) (ACM CHI 2023 LBW): Repurposes everyday household objects as passive haptic props for consumer virtual reality.
- [ControllerPose: Inside-Out Body Capture with VR Controller Cameras](https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3491102.3502105) (ACM CHI 2022 · Best Paper Honorable Mention): Reconstructs full-body 3D human pose using cameras embedded in handheld VR controllers.
- [ElectriPop: Low-Cost, Shape-Changing Displays Using Electrostatically Inflated Mylar](https://cathy-mengying-fang.github.io/project/electripop.html) (ACM CHI 2022): Fabrication technique for lightweight, origami-inspired shape-changing displays driven by electrostatic inflation ([Paper PDF](https://cathy-mengying-fang.github.io/image/electripop/electripop_chi22_final.pdf)).
- [Morphace: Origami-Inspired Shape-Changing Interfaces](https://dl.acm.org/doi/fullHtml/10.1145/3519391.3519406) (Augmented Humans 2022): Modular origami surface mechanisms for programmable physical shape-change.
- [Retargeted Self-Haptics for Increased Immersion in VR without Instrumentation](https://cathy-mengying-fang.github.io/project/selfhaptics.html) (ACM UIST 2021): Uses visuo-proprioceptive retargeting to redirect a user's touch onto their own body as an uninstrumented VR haptic proxy ([Paper PDF](https://cathy-mengying-fang.github.io/image/selfhaptics/RetargetedSelfHaptics_UIST21_Final.pdf)).
- [Wireality: Enabling Complex Tangible Geometries in VR with Worn Multi-String Haptics](https://cathy-mengying-fang.github.io/project/wireality.html) (ACM CHI 2020 · Best Paper Award · Fast Company Innovation by Design Award): Shoulder-worn spring-loaded string haptics that lock finger joints in 3D space to render complex virtual geometries ([Paper PDF](https://cathy-mengying-fang.github.io/image/wireality/Wireality_CHI_Final_Permission.pdf)). Featured on NBC Nightly News.