Benjamin Lira Luttges

Benjamin Lira Luttges

I am a fourth-year doctoral candidate in Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania. I am working with Dr. Angela Duckworth and Dr. Lyle Ungar.

My research explores how interactions with AI systems shape human learning, motivation, judgment, and decision-making. I design AI-powered interfaces--including conversational chatbots and intelligent writing assistants--as well as AI-driven decision-support tools (e.g., custom-trained language models for evaluating soft skills in college admissions), and systematically assess their psychological and social implications. Through pre-registered experimental studies, advanced NLP techniques, and analyses of real-world data, my work seeks to uncover how engagement with AI can durably augment---rather than replace or hinder---human capabilities.

My work has been published in Educational Researcher, Nature Scientific Reports, and Science Advances.

Prior to my doctoral studies at Penn, I graduated summa cum laude from the University of Lima with a BA and a Licensure in Psychology, and worked developing interventions, training, and outreach on Educational Neuroscience and Psychology.

Here is my Google Scholar Page, and my CV.

PhD Student

University of Pennsylvania