Human-AI Cognition Lab (HAIC Lab)-PHD candidates only

The Human-AI Cognition Lab (HAIC Lab) is an independent, fully remote research lab founded in 2026 by Sudhanshu Garg (an IIT Bombay alumnus).

Unlike traditional usability or UI/UX labs that focus on product speed and ease of use, HAIC Lab focuses on cognitive science, Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), and Computer-Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW). Their core focus is understanding how human thinking, agency, and decision-making change when interacting with conversational and generative AI systems.

Core Mission & Research Philosophy

The lab operates on the premise that AI is no longer just a passive tool; it has become an active environment in which humans think.

Instead of asking “Does AI make users faster?”, HAIC Lab asks:

• What happens to human memory, judgment, and focus when an AI can generate work on demand?
• How do humans maintain control and ownership over their work when AI contributes heavily to the process?

Key Research Focus Areas

HAIC Lab operates across five main research pillars:

• Cognition and Control in AI-Assisted Work: How humans guide, correct, and retain moral/operational responsibility for AI-driven outcomes.
• Attention, Interruption, and Resumption: How people jump back into complex, unfinished tasks after being interrupted and how context is rebuilt across fragmented AI sessions.
• Sensemaking and Reflection: How users turn scattered information and AI outputs into genuine understanding, pattern identification, and updated beliefs.
• Cognitive Offloading and Personal Infrastructure: How personal notes, threads, and AI assistants function as external memory systems and how they start participating in human thought processes.
• Agency, Authorship, and Self-Worth: How human self-worth, sense of skill, and intellectual ownership are affected when an AI system generates a large portion of the work.

Current Publications & Leadership

• Founder & Principal Researcher: Sudhanshu Garg (B.Tech & M.Tech, IIT Bombay).
• Recent Publication: “Interruptive Thinking: An Empirical Study of Operator-Side Control in AI Interaction” (Presented at PPIG 2026, UCL Interaction Centre, London, July 2026). This research analyzes how users redirect, interrupt, and re-engage during AI-assisted thinking sessions using real interaction data.

Requirements

• PhD (completed or recently awarded), Postdoctoral experience, or equivalent research experience in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), Human-AI Interaction, Computer-Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW), Cognitive Science, Psychology, Computer Science, or any related discipline.
• Strong academic writing, research, and critical thinking skills.
• Experience conducting independent research and publishing scholarly work is preferred.
• Ability to work independently in a fast-paced, remote environment.
• Genuine curiosity about how humans interact with AI and emerging technologies.

What You’ll Gain

• Work directly with the founder on high-impact, frontier research.
• Help build a new Human-AI research lab from the ground up.
• Opportunity to contribute to publications and long-term research initiatives.
• High ownership, flexibility, and intellectual freedom.

Pay: ₹15,000.00 - ₹20,000.00 per month

Benefits:

• Leave encashment
• Provident Fund
• Work from home

Application Question(s):

• Please describe your most relevant research experience in HCI, Human-AI Interaction, Cognitive Science, Psychology, or a related field. What was your specific contribution?
• This role includes a mandatory 3-month probation (regardless of experience) with a salary of ₹15,000-₹20,000/month. Confirmation is subject to successful performance. Do you agree?

Education:

• Doctorate (Required)

Work Location: Remote