What occurs when a pupil research each the human thoughts and laptop science—and decides know-how needs to be designed with communities moderately than merely for them?For Ila Krishna Kumar, that query has formed an uncommon educational {and professional} journey spanning psychology, laptop science, psychological well being analysis, MIT and, most not too long ago, a pupil researcher position in Belief & Security at Google. Her work focuses on designing know-how to help well-being, significantly for communities typically marginalised by know-how and psychological healthcare methods.A PhD pupil on the Massachusetts Institute of Expertise, Kumar believes that the individuals most affected by know-how ought to have a significant position in creating it. That philosophy has taken her from finding out psychology on the College of Pennsylvania to researching how digital instruments can help younger individuals who have skilled trauma.
Psychology plus laptop science: The place her journey started
Kumar accomplished her Bachelor of Arts on the College of Pennsylvania, majoring in psychology with a minor in laptop science.Throughout her undergraduate years, she labored on analysis involving anxiousness, melancholy and psychophysiological information. She additionally gained expertise growing digital instruments, together with know-how designed to help college students from underprivileged backgrounds.Her early work uncovered her to a basic query: May know-how be designed not merely to operate effectively, however to genuinely enhance individuals’s lives?After graduating, Kumar labored at Character Lab, the place she moved from junior product supervisor to UX strategist and later UX guide. Her work concerned user-centred design and digital platforms supporting socioemotional analysis involving hundreds of scholars.
From ‘tech for good’ to know-how designed with communities
Kumar joined MIT in 2021, initially pursuing a grasp’s diploma within the Affective Computing group.In accordance with a profile revealed by MIT Information, her experiences finally satisfied her to proceed at MIT for a PhD. She now works within the Lifelong Kindergarten group, designing what she describes as therapeutic socio-digital interventions with and for younger individuals who have skilled developmental trauma.Her strategy combines therapeutic practices, trauma-informed frameworks and collaborative design.“We aren’t sitting at MIT designing instruments and simply throwing them at individuals,” Kumar advised MIT Information. “We’re designing it collectively.”
Designing know-how with younger individuals
One among Kumar’s tasks has explored visible types of communication for younger individuals affected by trauma and the kid welfare system.Working with Stepping Ahead LA and younger individuals concerned within the design course of, the mission explored a visible collage system that would assist customers specific feelings that could be troublesome to place into phrases.In one other mission with the Justice Useful resource Institute, Kumar is collaborating with clinicians and younger individuals on a cell utility designed to assist youth take part extra actively of their remedy planning.
Now exploring AI and Belief & Security
As synthetic intelligence turns into more and more accessible, Kumar has additionally turned her consideration in the direction of how younger individuals work together with AI.She has raised issues about younger individuals turning to AI instruments for vital choices whereas caregivers could not all the time perceive how these applied sciences affect them.Her educational analysis now intersects with real-world know-how improvement. In accordance with her skilled profile, Kumar joined Google in June 2026 as a pupil researcher in Belief & Security.
Why her journey issues
Kumar’s profession represents an more and more vital intersection in training and know-how: understanding individuals earlier than making an attempt to construct for them.From psychology and laptop science on the College of Pennsylvania to graduate analysis at MIT and Belief & Security work at Google, her journey demonstrates that the way forward for know-how could require greater than higher algorithms.It might additionally require asking a less complicated query earlier than writing the primary line of code: Who needs to be sitting on the desk when know-how is designed?Disclaimer: This text relies on publicly obtainable data, together with a profile revealed by MIT News {and professional} data shared by Ila Kumar. TOI Training has not independently verified all skilled roles, analysis tasks or claims talked about within the supply materials.
