About me

Hi! I’m Pranati Modumudi, a first-year Master’s student studying Computer Science at Columbia University, specializing in the Machine Learning and Neuroscience track. I completed my undergraduate studies at UC Berkeley, where I studied Data Science (with an emphasis in Sociology) and Economics and was a recipient of the Regents’ and Chancellor’s Scholarship at Cal.

I’m driven by a deep curiosity about intelligence, both natural and artificial, and how insights from each domain can elevate and inform the other. My passion lies in building ethical, responsible, and inclusive AI systems that are transparent, safe, and aligned with human values. I care deeply about designing technology that not only works — but works for everyone.

I like thinking about how biological intelligence can inform safer AI design, particularly through mechanistic interpretability and biologically-inspired architectures. I’m drawn to projects that sit at the intersection of neuroscience and machine learning — whether that’s exploring how the brain navigates uncertainty and decision-making, or building AI agents with multiple competing drives that better align with human values. I’m currently working on EEG and eye-tracking research at the Laboratory for Intelligent Imaging and Neural Computing to understand human decision patterns under risk and ambiguity, and will explore how these insights might shape more robust and interpretable AI systems.

Outside school, I love dancing, boxing, and eating.

Currently Reading

• 1q84, Haruki Murakami
• The Left Hand of Darkness, Ursula K. Le Guin
• The Precipice: Existential Risk and the Future of Humanity, Toby Ord