Talk Title: Navigating Enterprise AI Innovation: Decision-Making, Concept Selection, and the Realities of Ideation

Speaker: Shixian Xie, Ph.D. Student, Human-Computer Interaction Institute, Carnegie Mellon University.

Location: IRB 4105 and Zoom

Abstract: Despite massive investments in Artificial Intelligence, enterprises continue to grapple with high failure rates and unclear value creation. Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) has long offered frameworks to identify the “right thing to build,” yet early-stage AI innovation often departs significantly from standard HCI practices. In this talk, I will share findings across three complementary research projects exploring how enterprises navigate early-stage AI decisions, what role HCI has played in this process, and whether traditional ideation practices fit modern enterprise realities. Together, these insights challenge traditional design assumptions and open new opportunities for HCI to align with fast-paced enterprise realities.

Bio:  Shixian Xie is a Ph.D. student in the Human-Computer Interaction Institute (HCII) at Carnegie Mellon University, advised by John Zimmerman and Motahhare Eslami. Her research lies at the intersection of HCI and Enterprise Strategy. Her work has been published at CHI, CSCW, SIGCSE, and FAccT, and has received Best Paper Honorable Mention Awards at CHI. Prior to CMU, Shixian earned her bachelor’s degree from the Fisher College of Business at The Ohio State University, where she was named a Pace Setter Awardee—given to the top 1% of business undergraduate students based on academic achievement and leadership.