I am an Assistant Professor at the University of Cambridge, where I am based in the Institute for Technology and Humanity (ITH) and its Centre for Human-Inspired Artificial Intelligence (CHIA). I am also an Official Fellow in Computer Science at King’s College, Cambridge.

Previously, I was an Assistant Professor & Faculty Fellow at the Center for Data Science at New York University and a Senior Research Associate at Alan Turing Institute. I completed my PhD in the Cambridge Machine Learning Group, where I was advised by Adrian Weller. I hold a MS and BS in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University. I grew up in Basking Ridge, New Jersey, USA.

Research

I build trustworthy artificial intelligence (AI) systems for high-stakes deployment. I am keen to develop new algorithms and tools that support effective human-AI interaction and manage the partnership between humans and AI systems. Drawing from machine learning, cognitive science, philosophy, and law, my group and I investigate when and how AI can be trusted, integrated into decision-making, and evaluated in ecologically valid settings. My work pays particular attention to critical domains such as healthcare, education, and national security, where transparency and human oversight of AI systems is essential.

Over the years, my research has supported by the Responsible AI Institute, Harvard Center for Research on Computation and Society, Mozilla Foundation, Partnership on AI, and the Leverhulme Center for the Future of Intelligence (Trust and Transparency) via generous donations from Google DeepMind and the Leverhulme Trust. Stay tuned for details on our soon-to-be-announced Trustworthy AI Laboratory at Cambridge. If you’re interested in joining or supporting us, please get in touch with me.

Select Recent Publications

A longer publication list can be found on Google Scholar.

1. Learning Personalized Decision Support Policies
   Umang Bhatt*, Valerie Chen*, Katherine Collins, Parameswaran Kamalaruban, Emma Kallina, Adrian Weller, Ameet Talwalkar. AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence (AAAI), 2025

2. Building Machines that Learn and Think with People
   Katherine Collins*, Ilia Sucholutsky*, Umang Bhatt*, Kartik Chandra*, Lionel Wong*, Mina Lee, Cedegao Zhang, Tan Zhi-Xuan, Mark Ho, Vikash Mansinghka, Adrian Weller, Joshua Tenenbaum, Thomas Griffiths. Nature Human Behavior, 2024

3. When Should Algorithms Resign? A Proposal for AI Governance Umang Bhatt*, Holli Sargeant*. IEEE Computer, 2024

Group Members

The best way to work with me is to apply to CHIA’s MPhil or PhD programme and list my name in your application. If you are already a Cambridge student or are interested in postdoctoral roles, please reach out to me directly.

• Drew Calcagno, incoming PhD Student, Cambridge
• Bernardo Villegas, incoming PhD Student, Cambridge
• Elaf Almahmoud, incoming PhD Student, Cambridge
• Noah Broestl, incoming PhD Student, Cambridge (co-advised with Adrian Weller)

Former

• Mackenzie Jorgensen, Postdoctoral Research Assosciate, Alan Turing Institute
  Next: Postdoc at Northumbria
• Kendall Brogle, Research Assistant, Alan Turing Institute
  Next: MPhil at Cambridge
• Matthew Barker, MEng in Information Engineering, Cambridge
  Next: Trustwise
• Vivek Palaniappan, MEng in Information Engineering, Cambridge
  Next: Citadel
• Varun Babbar, MEng in Information Engineering, Cambridge
  Next: PhD at Duke
• Javier Abad Martinez, Research Assistant, Cambridge
  Next: PhD at ETH Zurich
• Dan Ley, MEng in Information Engineering, Cambridge
  Next: PhD at Harvard