Ali Safari

alisafari@my.unt.edu | alisafari.space | linkedin.com/in/ali-safari | Denton, TX

Education

University of North Texas

Ph.D. in Business Computer Information Systems

2024 – Present (Expected 2029)

Research focus: Agentic AI and human-AI delegation, trust calibration in intelligent systems, cybersecurity and open-set threat detection, and AI governance.

Isfahan University of Technology

M.Eng. in Industrial Engineering — System Management and Productivity

2014 – 2016

University of Isfahan

B.Sc. in Industrial Management

2010 – 2014

Research Interests

Agentic AI and bidirectional task authority delegation between humans and intelligent systems. Trust calibration in high-stakes domains, particularly cybersecurity. AI governance, accountability, and organizational policy. Open-set threat detection and extreme value methods for novel attack recognition. Privacy behavior and the privacy calculus. Technology adoption and sociotechnical theory.

Publications

Safari, A., & Kim, D. J. (2025). Enhancing IoT security and information systems resilience: An extreme value machine approach. Proceedings of the International Conference on Information Systems (ICIS).
Safari, A., & Dhillon, G. (2025). Calibrating human trust in AI cybersecurity alerts: The impact of real-time confidence feedback. Annual Security Conference Proceedings.
Safari, A. (2025). Autonomous constitutional AI governance: A dual-agent system for real-time ethical compliance. Proceedings of the International Conference on Entrepreneurship for Sustainability & Impact (ESI).
Safari, A., Asgari, F., & Saeidi, R. (2025). Social vulnerability and disability prevalence: A multivariate analysis across U.S. counties. Decision Sciences Institute (DSI) Proceedings.
Safari, A. (2025). Sentiment analysis of Airbnb reviews: Exploring their impact on acceptance rates and pricing. arXiv preprint arXiv:2504.14053.

Research & Teaching Experience

Graduate Research Assistant

University of North Texas — G. Brint Ryan College of Business

August 2024 – Present
  • Data analysis and experimental design for projects on trust in AI and open-set threat detection, supervised by Dr. Hoon Seok Choi and Dr. Chih-Hao Ku.
  • Literature synthesis and methodology development for studies combining deep learning with behavioral IS research.

Graduate Teaching Assistant

University of North Texas — Administration and Policy in Information Security

August 2024 – Present
  • Supported graduate students in information security policy, risk management, and compliance frameworks under Dr. Dan J. Kim.
  • Evaluated assignments, provided detailed feedback, and facilitated class discussions on governance structures for security.

Graduate Teaching Assistant

University of North Texas — Object-Oriented Programming for Business

Summer 2026

Assisted in teaching Java programming and object-oriented design principles to business students.

Guest Lecturer

University of Isfahan — MBA Program in Digital Marketing

November 2023 – June 2024

Delivered practical sessions on digital marketing strategy and SEO to MBA students, bridging academic theory with industry application.

Conference Presentations

International Conference on Information Systems (ICIS)

December 2025

Copenhagen, Denmark. Presented “Enhancing IoT Security and Information Systems Resilience: An Extreme Value Machine Approach.”

Americas Conference on Information Systems (AMCIS)

2026

Forthcoming. Presenting two papers: “Managerial Discretion as Operational Insurance: Quasi-Experimental Evidence from Professional Football” and “Open-Set Fake News Detection Framework: Addressing Algorithm Aversion through AI Geometric Bounding.”

BIG12 Plus Symposium

2026

Cincinnati, OH. Presented “Bidirectional Delegation of Task Authority in Human–AI Collaboration: A Mechanism-Asymmetric Framework” (with A. Sidorova and D.J. Kim).

Annual Security Conference

2025

Presented “Calibrating Human Trust in AI Cybersecurity Alerts: The Impact of Real-Time Confidence Feedback.”

International Conference on Entrepreneurship for Sustainability & Impact (ESI)

2025

Presented “Autonomous Constitutional AI Governance: A Dual-Agent System for Real-Time Ethical Compliance.”

Decision Sciences Institute (DSI)

2025

Presented “Social Vulnerability and Disability Prevalence: A Multivariate Analysis Across U.S. Counties.”

Ad Hoc Reviewer

Journals: Technological Forecasting & Social Change; Operations Research Forum.

Conferences: International Conference on Information Systems (ICIS), 2026 (Cybersecurity track); Americas Conference on Information Systems (AMCIS), 2025, 2026 (Security track); Pacific Asia Conference on Information Systems (PACIS), 2026; Annual Conference on Information Systems, 2026; ACM SIGMIS CPR, 2026.

Methods & Technical Skills

Research methods: Experimental design, survey research, structural equation modeling (PLS and CB-SEM), mediation and moderation analysis, ANOVA, bootstrap, text and sentiment analysis.

Programming & tools: Python, R, SAS, SPSS, PyTorch, Scikit-learn, Pandas, NumPy, LaTeX.

Languages: English (Full professional), Persian (Native), Arabic (Limited working).

Selected Prior Experience

Founder & CEO

Rasa Digital Marketing

March 2017 – May 2024

Founded and led a digital marketing platform with 20+ team members and 100+ delivered projects across the Middle East. Experience informs research on technology adoption and organizational change.