Welcome! 👋🏻
My name is Sixing (Jonathan) Tao, a junior studying Computer Science and Sociology at the University of Washington, with a focus on Human-AI Interaction. I am currently working with Prof. Jacob Wobbrock and Prof. Audrey Dorélien at UW, as well as collaborating with Prof. Jane E at NUS. Previously, I conducted research with Prof. Xin Yi at Tsinghua.
I design, build, and evaluate Human-AI collaborative systems that support human expression for creators of every ability. I draw on HCI and AI methods, from system development and preference learning to empirical studies and benchmarking.
I grew up in Shanghai, China. When I'm not researching, you can find me sailing, traveling, or behind the camera. Always happy to chat—feel free to reach out!
Latest News
- Jul 2026Awarded the Microsoft Endowed Scholarship by the Paul G. Allen School.
- May 2026My paper as co-first author was accepted by PoPETs! Shuning will present it at PETS 2026 in Calgary, Canada.
- Mar 2026I will join Palette Lab 🎨 this summer as a Research Intern, see y'all in Singapore!
- Jan 2026The first HCI paper I worked on was accepted to CHI 2026!
Ongoing Projects
Accessible Slide Authoring
An accessible slide-authoring system, built through co-design with blind professionals, that lets creators delegate execution of their own design ideas to AI and verify the AI's implementation; a loop that keeps them in control.
Design Reasoning Benchmark
A benchmark for evaluating how well vision-language models reason about design, built on human-annotated "Design DNA" representations that enable design-preserving generation through constraint propagation.
BLV Photography Practices
Studying how blind and low-vision photographers work today through a crip technoscience lens, surfacing strategies and the support that would serve them as artists, not just what a tool automates.
Publications
Latest News
- Jul 2026Awarded the Microsoft Endowed Scholarship by the Paul G. Allen School.
- May 2026My paper as co-first author was accepted by PoPETs! Shuning will present it at PETS 2026 in Calgary, Canada.
- Mar 2026I will join Palette Lab 🎨 this summer as a Research Intern, see y'all in Singapore!
- Jan 2026The first HCI paper I worked on was accepted to CHI 2026!