Trustworthy Research for Understandable, Safe, Technology

The TRUST Lab at Duke University conducts research in applied AI explainability, technology evaluation, and adversarial alignment to ensure AI systems are transparent, safe, and beneficial for society.

Research Areas

Our interdisciplinary team tackles challenges in developing trust in technology.

Applied Explainability

Applying AI explainability methods to real-world problems.

Technology Evaluation

We focus both on the technical evaluation/benchmarking of AI systems and on the assessment of the societal impact of emerging technologies.

Adversarial Alignment

Using adversarial techniques to better explain AI systems.

Current Projects

Explainability in Conservation project image

Explainability in Conservation

Applied Explainability
Researchers:Jiayi Zhou, Gunel Aghakishiyeva

We are applying state of the art computer vision approaches and explainable machine learning techniques to support wildlife conservation efforts. This interdisciplinary project bridges machine learning with ecological science to create transparent decision-making tools.

Exploring Geolingual and Temporal Components of AI Embeddings project image

Exploring Geolingual and Temporal Components of AI Embeddings

Applied Explainability
Researchers:Bochu Ding, Junyu Zhang, Vivienne Foley, Alexis Golart, Neha Shukla, James Sohigian

This project investigates how large embedding models encode geographical and temporal information, with implications for understanding cultural biases and historical shifts in AI systems.

Consilience: AI in Interdisciplinary Research Augmentation project image

Consilience: AI in Interdisciplinary Research Augmentation

Technology Evaluation
In collaboration with:Society-Centered AI Initiative
Researchers:Vishnu Mukundan TM, Vihaan Nama, Tiffany Degbotse, Jiayi Zhou

This study explores how voice-based, conversational LLM agents can function as “research translators” in interdisciplinary collaborations.

Aligned Machine project image

Aligned Machine

Technology Evaluation
Researchers:Jiechen Li, Hannah Groos

The Aligned Machine aims to builds a benchmark of human-aligned similarity by comparing AI model outputs with human judgments of meaning, using an interactive platform designed to support public engagement with AI research.

Explainable and Adversarially Robust Sleep Monitoring project image

Explainable and Adversarially Robust Sleep Monitoring

Adversarial AlignmentApplied Explainability
Researchers:Jenny Chen, Jenny Wu, Rishika Randev, Eric Ortega Rodriguez

This project addresses gaps in responsible AI for digital health by developing explainable and adversarially robust machine learning models for sleep monitoring.

Adversarial Alignment in Large Language Models project image

Adversarial Alignment in Large Language Models

Adversarial AlignmentTechnology Evaluation
Researchers:Gunel Aghakishiyeva, Catie Barry

We aim to turn the “bug” of adversarial attacks into a feature for improving AI transparency, trustworthiness, and alignment with human goals. In this project, we are developing an open-source adversarial probing platform for LLMs.

Recent Publications

On Thin Ice: Towards Explainable Conservation Monitoring via Attribution and Perturbations

Jiayi Zhou, Günel Aghakishiyeva, Saagar Arya, Julian Dale, James David Poling, Holly Houliston, Jamie Womble, Gregory Larsen, David Johnston, Brinnae Bent

NeurIPS Workshop on Imageomics (accepted)2025

Applied Explainability

Photorealistic Inpainting for Perturbation-based Explanations in Ecological Monitoring

Günel Aghakishiyeva, Jiayi Zhou, Saagar Arya, Julian Dale, James David Poling, Holly Houliston, Jamie Womble, Gregory Larsen, David sJohnston, Brinnae Bent

NeurIPS Workshop on Imageomics (accepted)2025

Applied Explainability

The Term 'Agent' Has Been Diluted Beyond Utility and Requires Redefinition

Brinnae Bent

AAAI/ACM Conference on AI, Ethics, and Society2025

Technology Evaluation

Semantic Approach to Quantifying the Consistency of Diffusion Model Image Generation

Brinnae Bent

CVPR Explainable AI for Computer Vision Workshop2024

Technology Evaluation

Latest News

  • October 2025

    DisagreeBot featured on CNET

  • October 2025

    Dr. Bent cited in CNET article on AI sycophancy

  • September 2025

    Bochu Ding profiled by Duke for his summer work at NASA

  • July 2025

    Deep Tech at Duke Funds Four AI for Metascience Projects Through OpenAI Partnership

Featured Videos

Watch our latest presentations and research overviews

Responsible AI Symposium

Our recent symposium, hosted at Duke University, introduces society-centered AI

Adversarial Alignment

Dr. Bent introduces the AI 2030 audience to Adversarial Alignment

Get in Touch

Interested in our research? We welcome collaborations, inquiries from prospective students, and partnerships with industry and academia.

brinnae.bent@duke.edu
Duke University, Durham, NC