The N.E.T. Program Award Committee is honored to announce Master’s student in Applied Psychology Yongjie Sun as a recipient of the 2025 N.E.T. Award for Academic Excellence. For Sun, who describes the award as a “crucial source of affirmation and motivation,” the honor marks an important milestone in his academic journey.
Sun is working under the guidance of Professor Pekka Santtila. His research lies at the intersection of artificial intelligence, psychology, and law, exploring how AI technologies—particularly large language models—can be used to support child forensic interviews and enhance the fairness of legal decision-making.
In one strand of his work, Sun investigates how large language models can be used to improve the quality of investigative interviews with children, particularly by reducing suggestiveness of the questions asked. Minimizing suggestive phrasing can help lower the risk of eliciting erroneous details from children, thereby enhancing the evidentiary value of their testimonies. In another, he examines the presence of bias in AI-supported legal decision-making. This includes both explicit biases—such as gender and racial biases—and cognitive biases in reasoning processes, such as anchoring and outcome bias. Through this line of research, he seeks to deepen the understanding of how human bias operates in legal judgments, and to contribute to the development of AI systems that are fairer and more transparent.
One of Sun’s most striking findings is that general-purpose language models can already perform on par with trained human interviewers in certain aspects of child witness interviewing. “The results surprised us,” he says. “It opens the door to developing specialized models that may one day surpass human performance in specific contexts.”
Sun says he discovered his passion for research only after beginning graduate studies. “As an undergraduate, I had few opportunities to explore research. It wasn’t until I joined the graduate program and began working with Professor Santtila that I truly understood the meaning of scientific inquiry,” he recalls. “Now, using AI to support investigative interviews with children gives me a deep sense of social usefulness.”
Technical challenges have been a recurring part of Sun’s research, particularly in applying cutting-edge techniques such as Reinforcement Fine-Tuning (RFT) to improve LLMs. “As computer science was not my primary field of study and the technique itself is relatively cutting-edge, I initially encountered certain technical challenges.” he recalls. “Fortunately, Professor Santtila encouraged me to explore alternative approaches and introduced me to faculty members with relevant expertise, which led to productive technical discussions. With his guidance, I was able to overcome these challenges successfully.”
Sun credits the N.E.T. Program’s interdisciplinary environment with broadening his perspective and helping him connect theory to real-world concerns. “The integration of ECNU and NYU Shanghai creates a vibrant network of researchers from diverse backgrounds,” he says. “Even when our research fields differ, we face similar challenges. Being part of this community makes it easier to seek advice, collaborate, and stay grounded in socially impactful work.”
Receiving the award, he says, has further strengthened his commitment to research. “It’s incredibly motivating to know my work is recognized by scholars from multiple fields,” he says. “The feedback I have received was insightful and has already helped shape new directions in my work. With this support, I can explore more pilot ideas and tackle bigger questions.”
The N.E.T. Award Committee congratulates Yongjie Sun on his achievements and looks forward to the continued success of his research.