Professor  Duncan P Brumby

Duncan Brumby is Professor of Human-Computer Interaction at University College London (UCL), where he studies how interactive technologies shape human attention, behavior, and judgment. His research examines how people manage complex digital environments, from interruptions, multitasking, visual search, and digital distraction to the emerging role of generative AI in writing, evaluation, and knowledge work.

Duncan’s research combines controlled experiments, field studies, qualitative inquiry, and computational modeling. Across more than 120 peer-reviewed publications, his work has explored how digital systems influence the way people think, act, communicate, and make decisions. His research has received sustained international recognition, including a CHI 2024 Best Paper Award, a CSCW 2020 Honorable Mention, and earlier awards and honors across CHI, CSCW, and cognitive science venues.

A central theme across Duncan’s work is that digital technologies are not neutral tools. They structure attention, shape social behavior, and influence how people evaluate information and take responsibility for decisions. His earlier research established a sustained program on digital attention and interruption, examining how people manage distraction, multitasking, and planning across workplace, home, mobile, and automotive contexts. More recently, his work has developed into a broader program on human-AI interaction, with a particular focus on how generative AI is reshaping writing, peer review, authorship, and professional knowledge work.

Duncan is also active in academic and professional leadership. He is Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, having previously served as Deputy Editor and Associate Editor. He has contributed extensively to ACM and SIGCHI, including as ACM Distinguished Speaker, Papers Subcommittee Chair for CHI, Doctoral Consortium Chair for CHI 2020, member of the ACM SIGCHI Awards Committee, and Paper Co-Chair for NordiCHI 2026.

As an international speaker, Duncan is known for making complex ideas accessible to diverse audiences. He has delivered invited lectures and keynotes at leading conferences, universities, and industry research laboratories across Europe, North America, Asia, and Australia, including opening keynotes at OzCHI and TAICHI, talks at Microsoft Research, and invited lectures at universities including the University of Washington, Eindhoven University of Technology, City University of Hong Kong, and National Taiwan University.

Across his research, teaching, editorial leadership, and public engagement, Duncan invites audiences to think critically about the digital systems that increasingly shape everyday life — and to ask how technology can be designed to support human focus, meaningful connection, and responsible judgment.

• Digital Distraction and the Design of Attention

  Digital technologies have transformed how we work, communicate, relax, and connect. But the scarce resource in modern life is not information; it is the human...

• Generative AI and the Future of Writing, Authorship, and Judgment

  As generative AI becomes routine in writing, a simple question becomes harder to answer: if a text was written with help from AI, who is the author? Students use AI...

• Rebuilding the Digital Town Square: Designing Social Media for Meaningful Connection

  Social media platforms once promised to become the digital town squares of modern life: places where people could gather, share ideas, maintain relationships, and...