About Me
Hi! I'm Cherie Sew. I am a PhD candidate in Human-Computer Interaction at the University of Melbourne.
My research focuses on human behaviours and information propagation on
social networking platforms. I am particularly interested in the rising popularity of Virtual Influencers (digital characters)
which could be developed using Generative AI technologies. By researching the factors that influence the adoption and usage of Virtual Influencers, as well as
the trust perceptions of Virtual Influencers, I hope to improve sociotechnical relationships that are not only supportive and beneficial but also ethically sound.
I am supervised by A/Prof. Jorge Goncalves, A/Prof. Ryan Kelly,
and Dr. Adelaide Genay
Reach out to me at csew[at]student.unimelb.edu.au
Education
PhD in Human-Computer Interaction
December 2023 - Current
University of Melbourne
Supervisors: A/Prof Jorge Goncalves and A/Prof Ryan Kelly
MC-IT Human-Computer Interaction
August 2021 - July 2023
University of Melbourne
Overall Grade: First Class Honours
B.Sc. Software Engineering
January 2015 - May 2018
San Jose State University
Publications
2025
- • C. Sew, R. Kelly, S. Schömbs, J. Goncalves (2025). Examining user willingness of embodied AI-generated content consumption. ACM SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI'25 LBW).
- • Y. Zhang, T.S.R.R. Mudiyanselage, C. Sew, J. Knibbe, J. Goncalves, W. Johal (2025). Can you pass that tool?: Implications of Indirect Speech in Physical Human-Robot Collaboration. ACM SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI'25).
- • C. Sew, S. Pareek, J. Govers, S. Schömbs, R. Kelly, J. Goncalves (2025). Impact of human-likeness and self-disclosure on AI-generated influencers' message acceptance. ACM Designing Interactive Systems Conferences (DIS'25).
2024
- • Y. Ma, C. Sew, Z. Sarsenbayeva, J. Knibbe, J. Goncalves (2024). Understanding Users' Perspectives on Location Privacy Management on Smartphones. The ACM International Conference on Mobile Human-Computer Interaction (MobileHCI'2024).
2023
- • C. Sew, J. Goncalves (2023). Effects of External Factors on User Behaviour towards Influencer Generated Misinformation. In Proceedings of the 35th Australian Conference on Human-Computer Interaction (OzCHI'23), 86–98.
Experience
Industry Experience
Siri Technical Analyst
October 2020 - April 2021
Apple (Advantis Global)
Software Engineer (Siri Language)
November 2018 - October 2020
Apple (Advantis Global)
Academic Experience
Tutor
March 2025 - Present
University of Melbourne
Course: INFO 90007 – Social Computing
Course: COMP 10003 – Media Computation
Casual Grader
August 2023 - August 2023
University of Melbourne
Course: INFO 90007 – Social Computing
Research Assistant
March 2023 - May 2023
University of Melbourne
Awards & Scholarships
Melbourne Research Scholarship
December 2023 - Current
University of Melbourne
People's Choice Award
2023
University of Melbourne
Advanced Interface Prototyping
Awarded Best Student Project, as voted by attendees.
Dean's Honours List
2022
University of Melbourne
Master of Information Technology
Awarded in recognition of outstanding academic performance, representing the top 5% of students in the same programme.