Alessia M. Vlasceanu
I research the space between human cognition, ethical reasoning, and intelligent systems — asking how human values, moral judgement, and social context can be meaningfully built into the design and evaluation of AI. I combine technical work in programming and data analysis with human-centred research methods to understand how people interact with, and are affected by, AI systems.
What I work on
My PhD sits across three connected threads — trust, ethics, and the people at the centre of it all.
Human-AI Interaction & Trust
Designing and evaluating explainable AI systems that people can actually understand, question, and trust.
Ethics-by-Design
Embedding moral reasoning, human values, and social context into AI systems from the ground up — not bolted on after.
Human-Centred Methods
Mixed-methods research bringing together computational tools and psychological science to study real human behaviour.
Currently
PhD Researcher, University of Manchester
Recipient of the Dean's Doctoral Scholarship. Researching Human-AI Interaction, software engineering practices, moral agents, and ethical AI, supervised by Prof. Caroline Jay and Dr. Emily C. Collins.
Co-founder, ECHO-AI
Connecting Romanian researchers and professionals in the UK with students, teachers, and organisations back home — building AI literacy with skill, responsibility, and purpose.
Graduate Teaching Assistant
Department of Computer Science, University of Manchester. Supporting Data Science and Cognitive Robotics modules through labs, tutorials, and coursework feedback.
Data Analyst Supervisor
University of Manchester Students' Union. Leading a team of six analysts delivering insights and dashboards that support business decisions.
Selected work
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When Transparency Deceives: Risks and Ethical Safeguards in XAI In preparation
Let's talk
Open to conversations about Human-AI Interaction, ethical AI, explainability, or collaboration on research and outreach. The easiest way to reach me is by email.