By: Felicia Guo
When Jingya Chen first entered the world of AI design, she quickly realized that the greatest opportunities for innovation weren’t just about building smarter systems—they were about building more human ones. As a lead designer at the Office of the Chief Scientist at Microsoft Research, Jingya has spent her career ensuring that AI advancements are deeply grounded in empathy, ethics, and human needs.
Growing up with a love for both art and technology, Jingya’s top academic experience took her from Tsinghua University to Carnegie Mellon University, where she blended rigorous technical training with a strong foundation in human-centered design. But it wasn’t until she stepped into the fast-evolving world of AI that she found her true calling: designing intelligent systems that not only solve problems but also reflect the complexities and values of real human lives.
“In AI design, it’s easy to focus on computational power,” Jingya reflects. “But real impact comes from understanding how technology can empower people without overwhelming them.”
Her design contributions prioritize societal impact and ethical foresight. Notably, she played a key role in building the Responsible AI Toolbox, an open-source suite designed to help developers and engineers create AI products that are safe, transparent, and human-centered. She also contributed significantly to the Human-AI Experience (HAX) Toolkit, a comprehensive guideline and library empowering product managers and designers to craft user-focused AI experiences. These initiatives represent her belief that AI’s greatest potential lies not just in intelligence but in responsibility and accessibility.
The Quiet Challenges and Triumphs
As a woman navigating the intersection of AI, engineering, and design, Jingya’s path hasn’t always been easy. Early in her career, she often found herself as the only designer—and sometimes the only woman—in highly technical rooms.
“There were moments when it felt like I had to explain not just my ideas, but why human-centered thinking even mattered in the first place,” she recalls.
Rather than discouraging her, these experiences sharpened her resolve. Jingya learned to advocate for perspectives that champion inclusion, transparency, and empathy. One defining moment came when she pushed for embedding fairness evaluation metrics into an AI development framework, ensuring that underrepresented users were not sidelined by algorithmic bias.
“That moment taught me that empathy isn’t soft. It’s strategic,” she says.
Mentoring the Future: Lifting Others as She Climbs
Beyond her product impact, Jingya has made mentorship a central part of her career. As a mentor in Microsoft’s Reach Program, she has guided more than 40 mentees—many of them women and underrepresented minorities—through the complexities of AI design careers.
Former mentees describe her sessions as “life-changing” and “transformative.” One mentee, Emily, recalls, “Jingya didn’t just help me get a job. She helped me find my voice as a designer.” Another, Antara, credits her tough but caring guidance with giving her the confidence to pursue a competitive graduate program in Human-Computer Interaction.
Jingya also frequently speaks at universities, sharing real-world lessons about designing for co-creation between humans and machines, the nuances of responsible AI, and the importance of self-advocacy for women in tech. Her message is consistent: technical excellence matters, but so does the courage to center human dignity in every technological advance.
Designing with a Woman’s Touch: Beyond the Algorithm
What does it mean to design AI “with a woman’s touch”? For Jingya, it’s about seeing technology not just as functionality, but as an opportunity to build relationships—between people, between cultures, and between futures.
“Women in tech bring diverse experiences that often equip them to recognize issues of equity, accessibility, and unseen impacts,” she explains. “When we design AI with those perspectives, we create systems that are more just, more imaginative, and more empowering.”
Through initiatives like the Responsible AI Toolbox and HAX Toolkit, Jingya is proving that inclusive design isn’t just a “nice-to-have”—it’s a blueprint for sustainable innovation. Her designs don’t just work; they listen, respond, and respect.
Looking Forward: A Call to Action
Today, Jingya is more committed than ever to building a future where human-centered, responsible AI is the norm, not the exception. She dreams of an industry where diverse voices lead innovation, where empathy is considered as essential as efficiency, and where young women entering the field feel seen, heard, and celebrated.
“My journey is just one story,” Jingya says. “But if sharing it helps even one more woman believe that her perspective belongs in shaping the future of AI, then it’s worth telling.”
Through her work, mentorship, and quiet leadership, Jingya Chen is proving that the future of AI isn’t just smarter. With the right touch, it’s kinder, too.
Published by Joseph T.
