AI Research Scientist
Parham Pourdavood is a computational cognitive scientist and AI researcher investigating the societal impacts of artificial intelligence. His work focuses on how emerging technologies — particularly large language models — affect human behavior, cultural dynamics, and social well-being, with an emphasis on AI ethics, safety, and human-AI interaction. At Human Energy, he leads AI research, developing evaluation frameworks for LLM-based systems, building experimental AI tools, and analyzing real-world usage patterns to understand how people interact with AI technologies. His published research examines LLMs through interdisciplinary lenses including cultural evolution, biosemiotics, and philosophy of mind, contributing to critical discourse on AI alignment and the responsible development of AI systems. He has presented this work at international venues including the Artificial Life Conference (Kyoto), the Centre Leo Apostel (Brussels), and UM6P (Morocco). Parham studied cognitive science and computer science at UC Berkeley and conducts neuroscience research at UCSF's Weill Institute for Neurosciences, where his published work in Patterns (Cell Press) advances computational methods for understanding complex neural dynamics. Beyond academic research, Parham is committed to making AI's societal implications accessible to broader audiences. He writes and publishes regularly on topics including AI ethics, the cultural role of LLMs, and the dynamics of human-AI interaction, exploring how these technologies reshape creativity, meaning-making, and social collaboration. Through public writing, interviews with scientists, and presentations to non-specialist audiences, he works to bridge the gap between technical AI research and the policymakers, educators, and communities most affected by these systems.
