This summer, Consumer Reports (CR), in partnership with the Public Interest Technology (PiTech) Initiative at Cornell Tech, the Ethics, Society, & Technology Initiatives at Stanford and the Center for Information Technology Policy at Princeton University, is proud to welcome three researchers to our Public Interest Tech Fellowship cohort. In parallel, CR continues its collaboration with five graduate students from Carnegie Mellon University’s Human-Computer Interaction Institute, who are advancing our work through their MHCI Capstone Project.
These fellows have joined CR this summer to explore the future of consumer-authorized AI agents and consumer protection in the digital marketplace. Their projects span a wide range of public interest questions: from establishing operational benchmarks for the duty of loyalty in AI systems, to personalizing consent in ways that respect consumer agency, to testing how well businesses’ comply with emerging state privacy laws.
“Every summer, we’re blown away by the talent and heart our fellows bring,” said Leah Hunter, Director of Innovation at CR. “This year’s cohort is no exception—their fresh perspectives and fearless creativity are helping us explore bold new ways to advance consumer rights, privacy, and power.”
From left to right, meet:
- Yadi Wang, Siegel PiTech PhD Impact Fellow, Ph.D student, Information Science, Cornell University who will be identifying consent and personalization design patterns that are aligned with consumer interests and agency
- Inyoung Cheong, Postdoctoral Researcher, Princeton Center for Information Technology Policy who will be developing operational benchmarks that measure duty of loyalty in AI systems
- Sohrab Hassibi, Stanford Tech Ethics & Policy Fellow, Computer Science, Stanford University who will be testing business compliance with emerging state comprehensive privacy laws
- Grace Conard, HCII Capstone Student, Human-Computer Interaction Institute, Carnegie Mellon University who will be leveraging agentic AI to enhance services that act in the best interests of consumers
- Kennion Gubler, HCII Capstone Student, Human-Computer Interaction Institute, Carnegie Mellon University who will be leveraging agentic AI to enhance services that act in the best interests of consumers
- Anika Jain, HCII Capstone Student, Human-Computer Interaction Institute, Carnegie Mellon University who will be leveraging agentic AI to enhance services that act in the best interests of consumers
- Esther Kim, HCII Capstone Student, Human-Computer Interaction Institute, Carnegie Mellon University who will be leveraging agentic AI to enhance services that act in the best interests of consumers
- Brenna Lindblad, HCII Capstone Student, Human-Computer Interaction Institute, Carnegie Mellon University who will be leveraging agentic AI to enhance services that act in the best interests of consumers
We’re thrilled to have such a powerhouse group contributing to CR’s innovation efforts. Their work will help shape a future where trusted AI agents empower people—not just to make better decisions, but to reshape the marketplace around transparency, agency, and loyalty.
Interested in research fellowships or partnership opportunities with CR? Feel free to drop us a note at innovationlab@cr.consumer.org
