Cori Faklaris 👩🏻‍💻

There's sooo much competition for the title of "Most Brazenly and Publicly Unethical AI-related Thing in Tech" - Grammarly is giving a good run at it though! @caseynewton@mastodon.social has an epic takedown of its "Expert Review" feature. https://www.platformer.news/grammarly-expert-review-reviewed/

I am hiring at least two PhD students in the next year to study social influences on security and privacy, decentralized computing, and "dangerous speech." Please pass along to the promising students you know. https://cci.charlotte.edu/academics/software-and-information-systems/phd-sis-track

Finally summited my personal Mount Olympus -- One of my papers won a conditional acceptance to CHI, the premier venue for human-computer interaction 🥰

I'll share the preprint and research story once it's officially signed off. For now, I'm simply basking in this rarest of good news. #chi2026

Can we have a safer internet without constant censorship? 🔍

Our latest research says yes - but we need better tools. We developed a more precise classifier that tells the difference between someone being offensive and someone actually inciting violence.

We tested it on 3.5M Gab posts and found that AI (with the right prompting) is getting much better at understanding that crucial gray area.

Details for the #TrustAndSafety and #SocialComputing community: https://blog.corifaklaris.com/2026/03/04/developing-a-precise-approach-to-identifying-inciting-speech-online/

How do we design cybersecurity that cares about a specific user? We have two new papers coming in early 2026:

🔹 CybAS: A 3-factor scale (Present, Future, Control) to measure the psychological burden of digital threats. Conditionally accepted for #CHI2026 in Barcelona. 🔹 Digital Safety for Migrants: A participatory design study to create AI-enabled advice interfaces with international students from the Global South. Accepted at #USEC2026.

Blog: https://blog.corifaklaris.com/2026/01/25/from-anxiety-to-agency-new-research-on-human-centered-security-at-chi-2026-and-usec-2026/

#UsableSecurity #HCI

Are you interested in - or even, teaching - Usable Security and Privacy? Check out my lectures on YouTube. I have been re-recording and posting these to a playlist. Subscribe! https://youtu.be/O4nz5cyGLtg?si=REgwrbNBuH6g7yqn

#usablesecurity #usableprivacy #cybersecurity #onlineprivacy

Every time I write a grant proposal, I try to keep my expectations level: "Maybe we'll get some good feedback."

Then of course I get into the details, and my excitement grows. "This project HAS TO HAPPEN! I can't wait!"

Recipe for heartbreak when yield is <10% :-(

#academia

RE: @Heycori@hci.social

I am sorry to miss #USEC2026 - I came down ill this week and had to cancel my travel. Please attend Sarah Tabassum's talk on her paper!

In Seattle for the 21st Symposium on Usable Privacy and Security (#SOUPS2025)! I will moderate a session on Internet of Things / Smart Home papers and present a poster on user-tested ideas for trust indicators in mobile messaging. https://lnkd.in/eNYCeqnm

Heading back to Iowa City for 1st time since my parents moved away ... http://bit.ly/faklaris_4_3

As an educator, I've moved from "How can I encourage AI?" to "How can they use it responsibly?"

Read my latest syllabus policy and my reflections here: https://blog.corifaklaris.com/2025/11/02/evolution-of-my-ai-syllabus-policy/

This year’s meeting of the big anti-mobile fraud group (M3AAWG) is right here in Charlotte. Lucky to snag a speaker spot and guest registration!

Listening to a woman from the Netflix “Tinder Swindler” doc recount her ordeal. It highlights how difficult it is to get justice for mobile fraud victims.

This work would not have been possible without my 2024 Google Research Award. Many thanks to them for supporting our efforts to better understand needs for AI-powered security and privacy advice! https://cci.charlotte.edu/2026/05/14/phd-sarah-tabassum-cybersecurity-international-students-google/