About HCRAI

Human-Centric Responsible AI (HCRAI) was founded after seeing a gap in AI work: important decisions about safety, ethics, and governance were being made without a clear understanding of how people actually interact with AI systems over time.

Behavioural science and human-AI interaction have shown that many risks emerge through use. These risks are shaped by context, vulnerability, and evolving behaviour - dynamics that are often missed by technical approaches or compliance checks.

HCRAI was created to bring behavioural evidence into these decisions and to support more responsible AI development and governance in real-world practice.

Sara is a behavioural scientist and AI strategy and ethics practitioner with over 17 years of experience working across product strategy, behavioural research, and innovation in global technology organisations (i.e., Shopify, Expedia, F-Secure, Unit4).

Her work combines academic rigour with real-world practice. She holds an MSc in Strategy and Management of International Business (ESSEC), an MSc in Behavioural Science (LSE), and is completing doctoral research in Psychology and AI at Universidade Católica Portuguesa.

Sara is an Oxford-certified AI ethicist and an ISO/IEC 42001 AI Management Systems auditor. Through HCRAI, she supports organisations in understanding how people interact with AI systems in practice, and in making informed decisions around safety, ethics and governance.

Yasmina is a PhD researcher in the psychology of emotions and wellbeing at Universidade Católica Portuguesa, with a research focus on the psychological impact of empathic AI and human-AI interaction.

She holds a master’s degree in Statistics and Information Management, bringing together expertise in data analysis, psychology, and user experience. Her research contributes to understanding how AI systems shape emotional experience, trust, and wellbeing in real-world use.

Alongside her academic work, Yasmina works as a consultant at a leading AI company focused on customer experience, contributing to the development of intelligent systems that support organisational insight and decision-making. She collaborates with HCRAI on selected research and advisory projects.

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HCRAI is a research-led practice focused on human-AI interaction, safety and governance.

Its work is shaped by behavioural research and AI ethics, and informed by real-world engagement with AI systems across different demographics, cultures, contexts, and levels of risk.

Sara Portell