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Elyssa Chung: Advocate for AI systems that serve everyone

By Kieran Fong

Elyssa's hometown: Toronto, ON

Multi-talented MHIS student Elyssa Chung is using her brains to design better algorithms that will benefit everyone.

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With her lifelong knack for jumping into rabbit holes for topics she has an interest in and growing up in a family where a deep curiosity about the world was encouraged, Elyssa Chung was a natural fit for a thesis-based graduate program in a newer, quickly growing field.

As a child, Elyssa was not a stranger to science and other STEM fields. Her mother worked alongside a Toronto hospital lab, and Elyssa saw her work firsthand. “I guess I’ve always had a key interest in research and how the world works,” she says.

That interest first led her to complete a Bachelor of Design in User Experience from Wilfred Laurier University in 2023. With the AI boom just beginning, Elyssa could see how AI might benefit UX designers, speeding up their work and allowing more innovation. But she also knows that the pace at which AI technology is advancing leaves little room to fully understand the potential negative consequences along with all the benefits.

Now a student in Western’s thesis-based Master of Health Information Science program, jointly offered by the Faculty of Information and Media Studies (FIMS) and the Faculty of Health Sciences, Elyssa is combining her UX design and research skills. She hopes to advocate for the ethical design of artificial intelligence systems in health care-related apps and systems. Her work involves examining health information in the private sector and analyzing apps to see how they influence people, all while being on the lookout for possible pitfalls.

In particular, she mentions how discriminatory biases can arise in AI technologies, for example in the algorithms that drive them, which can then perpetuate harm to already marginalized groups.

“It's quite amazing what AI can do. But also, at the same time, if you're not careful, there's a lot that can be neglected,” she cautions.

Despite all the stress of being a grad student, Elyssa is thrilled she chose Western and loves the campus’s gothic-inspired architecture. Her go-to study space is the FIMS Grad Library on the third floor of the FIMS & Nursing Building, offering a great view of campus.

“There are so many great people and fascinating things going on. I came to Western wanting a program that enriched my academic experience because I get bored so easily,” she says with a chuckle.

She points to the opening of FIMS’ first research centre as an example. The Starling Centre for Just Technologies and Just Societies, which launched in late 2024, is focused on the ethical and informed use of AI and other digital technologies in society and by public institutions like the government. Elyssa attended the Centre’s opening events and took advantage of the intellectual conversations on offer there.

Outside of school, Elyssa is a self-proclaimed “jack-of-all-trades” enjoying hobbies like hiking, gaming, and digital art. At home, you can find her sketching, watching fun Sci-Fi shows like Doctor Who, or playing action role-playing games like Hades.

“I do a lot of digital art and sketching because my background is in fine arts, before getting into user experience design. So that's been an interest that's constantly been with me since I was really young,” she says.

Looking ahead, Elyssa is excited to begin working on her master’s thesis. She’s glad to be surrounded by supportive classmates, engaging profs, research centres like Starling, and a program that allows her to expand her knowledge and skillset.

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Profiles in the Meet Our Students section are written by students in the Master of Media in Journalism & Communication program, who are enrolled in MMJC 9604 - Professional Writing.

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