Patrick Zhao

MSc thesis student at Simon Fraser University, advised by Dr. Nicholas Vincent. I'm primarily interested in human-centric AI methods in science / sociology, and how it can improve the way we understand and interact with complex systems.

Currently exploring the epistemological and methodological challenges of using LLMs in social simulations.

Recent News

Publications

Mechanism Plausibility in Generative Agent-Based Modeling

FAccT 2026

Patrick Zhao, David Huu Pham, Nicholas Vincent

Empowering Users Together: Connecting Algorithmic Collective Action and Explainable AI

Algorithmic Collective Action Workshop @ NeurIPS 2025

Ayana Hussain, Cole Michael Thacker, Patrick Zhao, Aditya Karan, Nicholas Vincent

Let Them Down Easy! Contextual Effects of LLM Guardrails on User Perceptions and Preferences

EMNLP Findings 2025 News Coverage Mentioned in Forbes — Aug 2025

Mingqian Zheng, Wenjia Hu, Patrick Zhao, Motahhare Eslami, Jena D. Hwang, Faeze Brahman, Carolyn Rose, Maarten Sap

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