As artificial intelligence weaves itself into the fabric of our daily lives, the focus shifts from whether it will influence society to how we can shape its impact. For product designer Yuqing Zhang, design is the vital connection between human values and technological advancement, taking emerging tools and creating meaningful social contributions. Recently, her work has garnered substantial international acclaim.
Her AI-driven training platform, ServeUp, received the prestigious Gold Winner title at the 2025 MUSE Design Awards and was showcased in December 2025 at The Flavor of Learning in New York. Following closely, her interactive installation Sweat for Generation achieved Best of the Best recognition at the 2025 C2A Awards and was displayed in January 2026 at CICA Museum in Korea.
These accolades underscore the growing importance of her exploration into AI as a socio-technical catalyst. Through a blend of scalable product systems and impactful installations, Zhang investigates how technology can enhance, rather than diminish, the human condition. Her approach treats technology as a medium that demands thoughtful design driven by social responsibility, interdisciplinary thinking, and a commitment to broaden access and opportunities.
ServeUp: Redesigning Workforce Equity Through AI
ServeUp is more than just an AI training platform. It’s a gamified experience created to help restaurants improve onboarding processes and foster staff engagement. This concept emerged from Zhang’s market research, revealing that the hospitality industry faces high turnover rates and repeated training cycles, with many employees opting to leave within months. Dialogues with operators and frontline workers revealed a stark reality: traditional training methods are often outdated, placing undue strain on small and mid-sized businesses. Zhang states, “The core failure of current training systems is structural. Materials are disconnected, and without timely feedback, growth feels slow and discouraging. Staff don’t have hours to study outside of work. Training has to adapt to real working conditions and fragmented attention.”
In response, Zhang co-founded ServeUp, spearheading its design. She transformed the onboarding experience into a mobile-first, adaptive learning ecosystem. Restaurants input menus and guidelines, which the platform then turns into concise lessons, flashcards, and tailored quizzes. When employees struggle, the platform identifies weaknesses and adjusts difficulty accordingly. It features a scenario-based roleplay module that allows staff to simulate interactions with an AI, responding to inquiries about dishes, dietary needs, and recommendations. Instead of rote memorization, employees engage in practical service scenarios, receiving personalized feedback. A real-time administrative dashboard empowers managers to monitor engagement and standardize training across multiple locations, turning informal onboarding into an accountable system.
With projections indicating a potential reduction in onboarding time by up to 40 percent, ServeUp promises to significantly lower retraining expenses and operational inefficiencies faced by restaurants. Even during its development phase, the platform has attracted global attention, garnering accolades at both the 2025 MUSE Design Awards and French Design Awards. It was exhibited in New York and highlighted at GOSIM 2025 Spotlight in China, affirming its recognition across both design and technology sectors.
Zhang’s vision expands beyond mere efficiency. “By lowering training costs and minimizing turnover, we enable businesses to function more sustainably while providing workers with structured, effective learning paths that lead to greater stability,” she elaborates. “AI should fundamentally serve people. If it advances opportunity and professional growth, it can become an instrument for promoting social equity rather than deepening divides.”
Sweat for Generation – Experiencing the Labor Unseen
While ServeUp addresses workforce equity, Zhang’s art installation Sweat for Generation – Experiencing the Labor Unseen delves into the often-overlooked infrastructure that supports AI technology. In today’s digital landscape, users can pose questions to AI systems and receive instant answers, seldom reflecting on the computational energy required to deliver such immediacy. This seamless convenience can unintentionally cultivate intellectual complacency, as rapid responses replace the slower, more reflective processes of critical thinking.
In this installation, guests input questions into a familiar chatbot interface. After obtaining an AI-generated response, the system calculates the token usage and translates this computational cost into a physical energy equivalent. Participants must turn a mechanical handle linked to a printer, watching as answers materialize on receipt paper, visually contextualized to illustrate energy consumption in relatable terms. By translating digital output to physical effort, the installation reintroduces the friction often absent in digital interactions.
“I wanted to make the invisible visible,” Zhang clarifies. “When everything feels instant, we overlook the costs—both environmental and cognitive. In doing so, we compromise our ability to think critically. Design should not just simplify systems; it should clarify their implications.”
Honored with the Best of the Best distinction at the 2025 C2A Awards and displayed at numerous international venues, the installation highlights the increasing global relevance of Zhang’s insights into AI’s unseen infrastructures. Through its intentional physical interaction and energy translation, the work repositions AI as a foundational structure rather than just a source of answers, encouraging audiences to rethink their connections with automated knowledge.
An Interdisciplinary Vision for Human-Centered AI
Collectively, these projects reflect Zhang’s diverse academic background. Initially trained in Urban Planning, she gained a systems-level perspective on design’s role in public participation and social equity. Her further studies in Human-Computer Interaction at the University of Washington broadened her expertise in product design and interactive systems. This unique blend allows her to view AI as an interconnected infrastructure rather than a standalone interface.
Now based in New York, Zhang develops AI tools aimed at aiding legal professionals in document review and drafting, enhancing efficiency while minimizing errors in high-stakes scenarios. Across diverse fields—ranging from hospitality to law—her mission remains resolute: to design AI systems that enhance human judgment while ensuring accountability. As she puts it, “Technology is never neutral. The systems we create dictate who gains access, who is marginalized, and how power is distributed. My aspiration is to craft AI tools that broaden access to knowledge and opportunities, all while upholding human autonomy and critical discernment.”
