ULSE GEM Fellow Investigates Ethical, Psychological Impacts of AI
Have you ever considered the psychological impacts of AI on everyday users?
GEM Fellow Everett-Alan Hood has, and it’s what he focused on during his 10 weeks with UL Standards & Engagement’s Data Science & Engineering team in summer 2025.
Hood graduated with his bachelor’s in computer science from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University before his fellowship and will begin pursuing his master’s at the University of Washington in computer science and software engineering in fall 2025.
At ULSE, Hood focused on social or ethical incidents related to AI hazards, specifically emerging hazards in the field. In contrast to his academic focus on computer science, his personal passion is in creative fields as well as psychology. Combining these interests led him to study how AI can be used unethically in some cases.
“The way I’ve seen AI impacting different groups in negative ways made me want to help standardize and regulate AI to make sure that it’s being used ethically in the future,” he said.
Hood’s project focused on emerging hazards like overreliance in trusting or using AI systems and exploitation where AI could be used to socially manipulate individuals or groups.
Of course, he’s not alone in his work. Hood has networked with other professionals and learned from experienced colleagues in the field.
Hood also said his participation in the Student Engagement Program eased his transition into both work and adjusting to a professional environment, noting that having a mentor and being able to speak openly about his fellowship experience with other interns relieved the pressure of the corporate world.
“One of my biggest takeaways from this experience is how to collaborate effectively within a team,” he said. “In tech, it’s easy to go solo, but projects like this take a lot of heads to come together and figure out what direction to go in.”
