Portrait of Zining (Annie) Wang

Zining (Annie) Wang

Master's Student in Computer Science, University of British Columbia

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Research Summary

I study and develop human-centered, socio-technical AI systems that support epistemic equity and human well-being. I investigate how multilingual models can surface underrepresented knowledge across languages, addressing the limitations of current systems that privilege dominant perspectives and languages. At the same time, I explore how AI can engage people through emotionally expressive, adaptive interactions, re-framing AI not just as a computational tool, but as a medium for cultural inclusion, transparency and empathy.

Research

My work focuses on:

Multilingual AI

Investigating how multilingual models can surface underrepresented knowledge across languages, addressing the limitations of current systems that privilege dominant perspectives.

Expressive & Adaptive AI

Designing emotionally expressive, adaptive AI systems that foster transparency and empathy, reframing AI not only as a computational tool but also as a medium for cultural inclusion and human connection.

Publications

"Ain't Misbehavin': Using LLMs to Generate Expressive Robot Behavior"

Zining Wang, Paul Reisert, Eric Nichols, Randy Gómez

ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction (HRI), 2024

View on ACM Digital Library

"WikiGap: Promoting Epistemic Equity by Surfacing Knowledge Gaps Between English Wikipedia and Other Language Editions"

Zining Wang, Yuxuan Zhang, Dongwook Yoon, Nicholas Vincent, Farhan Samir, Vered Shwartz

Under review at ACM CSCW, 2026

View on arXiv

"Are Neural Representation Learning Methods a Viable Alternative to TMLE for Causal Estimation?"

Mohammad Ehsanul Karima, Zining Wang

Under review at Journal of Statistical Computation and Simulation

View on arXiv

Experience

Graduate Student Researcher

UBC NLP Lab & Vector Institute of AI

Vancouver, BC

Jan 2025 – Present
  • Designing benchmarks to evaluate multilingual LLMs' ability to generalize facts across languages
  • Applying causal inference to identify and measure cross-lingual knowledge gaps
  • Developed WikiGap, a system that surfaces factual disparities across Wikipedia editions to promote cross-cultural awareness and transparency

Natural Language Processing Research Intern

Honda Research Institute Japan Co., Ltd.

Saitama, Japan

May 2023 – Dec 2023
  • Built large-scale datasets for emotion recognition in text
  • Designed label schemes tailored for social robotics, improving alignment between human affect and robot behavior
  • Investigated methods for integrating NLP models into emotionally expressive robotic interactions

Data Scientist Intern

Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia

Vancouver, BC

Jan 2022 – Mar 2023
  • Developed knowledge graphs to support clinical research data integration
  • Automated survey workflows to improve efficiency in large-scale clinical studies
  • Conducted data analysis to guide improvements in survey design and patient engagement

Database Developer

Digital Solutions, UBC Faculty of Medicine

Vancouver, BC

Sep 2021 – Dec 2021
  • Implemented automated data pipelines to facilitate metadata sharing across thousands of clinical studies
  • Built interactive dashboards for research administration and resource allocation

Selected Side Projects

LLM-based Chatbot for Stress Detection and Regulation

Applied NLP & Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Sep–Dec 2023
  • Developed an LLM-powered conversational agent for stress detection and adaptive mental health support
  • Integrated principles from cognitive behavioral therapy to ground model responses in evidence-based techniques

Differentially Private Synthetic Data Generation for Time Series

Privacy-Preserving Machine Learning Jan–Apr 2024
  • Designed methods for generating realistic synthetic time-series data under differential privacy constraints
  • Combined deep learning architectures with formal privacy guarantees to balance utility and protection

Education

University of British Columbia (UBC)

Vancouver, BC

• M.Sc. in Computer Science (Sep 2024 – Present)

• B.Sc. in Computer Science & Statistics (Sep 2019 – May 2024)

GPA: 4.0/4.0

Teaching & Mentorship

Undergraduate Teaching Assistant – Natural Language Processing

UBC

Sep 2023 – Dec 2023
  • Supported 80+ students in implementing NLP algorithms for tasks such as classification, sequence tagging, and question answering
  • Assisted with course assessment design and grading, providing feedback to reinforce student learning outcomes

Technical Director (Pro Bono)

Women in Data Science Association at UBC

May 2022 – Jan 2023
  • Organized bi-weekly workshops on data science, applied mathematics, and visualization for 200+ participants
  • Mentored 10+ students, supporting their academic growth and professional development in STEM