Erfan Farhadi
Writer, Programmer, Designer
Computer Science
Rochester, NY
About
I am a PhD student in Computer Science at the University of Rochester, advised by Prof. Zhen Bai. I design and study embodied agents and interactive AI literacy experiences, especially learning systems where students encounter AI through games, spatial interaction, tangible metaphors, and exploratory environments.
My background moves between engineering, cinema, and education. I studied Computer Engineering at Sharif University of Technology and Cinema Studies at Soore University of Arts, and that mix still shapes my work: I often think of technology not only as software, but also as a medium for narrative, culture, learning, and imagination. This thread continues in my current work on AI and cinema, where I extend my master’s thesis through movie-scene search, narrative pattern mining, and VLM-based analysis of cinematic style.
Along the way, I contributed to SSC, co-founded the educational NGO Rasta, taught programming and creative writing at NODET schools, published short stories, directed podcasts and radio plays, and designed and curated the exhibition and curriculum for Iran’s Computer Museum. For me, research, software, games, and film are different ways of asking the same question: how can we build experiences that help people see the world differently?
News
| Jun 16, 2026 | Meet Bip was accepted to ISLS 2026. |
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| Jan 15, 2026 | BeeTrap-MC received the AAAI/ACM SIGAI Innovative AI Education Award and was published at EAAI 2026. |
| Jul 28, 2025 | BeeCurious was presented at AIED 2025 Interactive Events. |
| Aug 20, 2024 | I started my PhD in Computer Science at the University of Rochester. |
| May 15, 2024 | My short film Watching Others Sleep was screened at Tehran Short Film Week. |
| Dec 15, 2023 | Iran’s Computer Museum opened to the public. |
Selected Publications
- EAAIBeeTrap-MC: A Minecraft-Based AI Literacy Tool for Teaching Filter BubblesIn AAAI Symposium on Educational Advances in Artificial Intelligence, Jan 2026
- ISLSMeet Bip: Understanding Student–Peer Agent Interaction in Embodied Exploratory Learning EnvironmentsJun 2026
- AIEDBeeCurious: A Minecraft-Based Testbed for Peer Agents in Exploratory Learning EnvironmentsJul 2025
- Scientific ReportsDANI: Fast Diffusion Aware Network InferenceScientific Reports, 2024
- IUICoColor: Interactive Exploration of Color DesignsIn Proceedings of the 28th International Conference on Intelligent User Interfaces Companion, Mar 2023
Projects
2024–present · BeeCurious
BeeCurious is my ongoing Minecraft-based AI literacy and embodied peer-agent research. It includes BeeTrap-MC, which teaches filter bubbles and recommendation systems through gameplay, and Meet Bip, an embodied bee agent designed to support learners through spatially grounded dialogue, bounded knowledge, and exploratory scaffolding.
2023–present · AI for Cinema and Narrative Studies
Continuing my master’s thesis on AI and cinema, this ongoing line of work explores how computational methods can support film and narrative studies. It includes movie-scene search with large language models, computer vision, and information retrieval; narrative pattern mining over plot structures; and VLM-based analysis of cinematic style through lighting, color, framing, spatial organization, atmosphere, and genre-level visual patterns.
2023–2024 · Watching Others Asleep
A 22-minute short film screened at Tehran Short Film Week in May 2024.
2020–2023 · Iran Computer Museum
Lead Designer and Content Curator. I designed the museum’s main exhibit narrative, educational tours, interactive installations, and learning materials. The museum opened to the public in December 2023.
Website
Tree of AI
Calculus of Words
2022–2023 · RoboLamb
A 2D RPG adventure game developed with Godot to introduce teenagers to computer science and programming concepts through gameplay.
2022 · CoColor: Interactive Exploration of Color Designs
An interactive system for AI-assisted color design workflows. I contributed to literature review, interaction design, implementation, and user testing with professional UX designers.
2022 · Goldoone
A drag-and-drop 2D game developed with Godot to help elementary students improve literacy skills through gameplay.
2022 · Intro-GD
An easy-to-use Godot add-on for creating tutorials and introduction sections inside Godot scenes.
2021 · Fifteen
A simple multiplayer online game, developed with Django Channels and Godot, where players compete to collect three cards that add up to 15.
2020–2022 · Kamva
My thesis project, later developed into a gamified platform for online workshops and semi-personalized educational content. Built with Django, Docker, and React.
2020 · Kabarama Dalapeste
An online gamified contest designed during the early days of Covid-19 to support connection and interaction during the transition to e-learning.
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2020 · Clash of Civilizations
An unfinished realtime online strategy game where players balanced civilization-building, science, and conflict through cards, battles, and educational quizzes.
2016–2019 · Shined Brightly, Though…
A 75-minute documentary based on my memories from school years and Iran’s educational system.
