World Usability Day 2026

WUD 2026
This year's global theme is Designing a Sustainable Future with Ethical AI. It asks how AI can support environmental stewardship and social equity while respecting cultural diversity and human rights.

Event details

Friday, November 13, 2026
10 AM to 2:30 PM (doors open at 9:30 AM)
Austin Public Library - University Hills Branch
Snacks and drinks will be provided

Speakers

John Neumann, Associate Professor of Practice and Capstone Program Director, UT Austin, Title TBD
Kritika Sony, UX Designer at PromptPath, Beyond the Screen: Designing for Sustainability with AI
Katie Stoltz, Vice President of Product Management and UX at Merative, User Trust in AI in Clinical Settings
Jashanpreet Kaur, UX designer and researcher, graduate student at UT Austin:,Traceable AI: Why Real User Research Must Anchor Intelligent Systems
Swarna Kadagadkai, design engineer and product designer, HCI student at UT Austin and president of the UXPA student chapter, Anti-Dark Patterns in AI Apps
Tanveer Chaudhary, innovation consultant and founder of DT&I, Beyond Intelligence: Designing AI Experiences for a Sustainable Human Future
Bethany Boenker, designer, researcher, and curator (IBM, Cloudflare, Cisco), Intellectual Monoculture: How Will AI Flatten Our Cognition, Creativity, and Humanity
Sravan Puli, product designer and builder, The Great AI Productivity Lie: Are We Creating Value or Just More Output?
Michael Moran, Product designer and creator of the Austin Design Hub (lightning talk), Mapping Austin's Creative
Community with Al
Mick McQuaid, Director of Master's Studies, iSchool, UT Austin (closing talk), AI Ethics and Accessibility

Panels

Who's responsible for trust in AI? Moderated by Joe Cardoza with panelists Katie Stoltz, Jashanpreet Kaur, and Swarna Kadagadkai
What does AI cost us that we're not measuring? Moderated by Danita Delce with panelists Bethany Boenker, Sravan Puli, and Tanveer Chaudhary