Nisha Devasia

IIT@MIT, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Papers

Total Citations

228

H-Index

About

Nisha Devasia is a leading researcher at the intersection of artificial intelligence, education, and child development, with a primary focus on AI literacy and human-robot interaction for young learners. Her work is dedicated to empowering children to navigate an increasingly AI-driven world, and she has made seminal contributions to developing and evaluating project-based AI ethics curricula for middle school youth. Her most cited work, “AI + Ethics Curricula for Middle School Youth” (2022), with 173 citations, provides foundational lessons for integrating ethical AI education into K-12 settings. Devasia is also a pioneer in exploring how social robots can serve as creativity support tools. Her studies on robots like “Escape!Bot” demonstrate that embodied, socially interactive robots can significantly enhance children’s creative problem-solving skills, addressing the well-documented decline in creativity during elementary school. Through her innovative research, Devasia is shaping how we design educational technologies that are not only intelligent but also socially and ethically aware, making her a vital voice in the future of human-centered AI and childhood learning.