I lead the Social Algoritms Group, where we study and build sociotechnical systems. My vision is to build computer-mediated communication infrastructures that are productive, accountable, and safe—infrastructures that help people to understand and navigate the algorithmic systems shaping their daily lives. As these systems grow increasingly opaque, people deserve more than passive participation. They deserve awareness of how algorithms curate their reality, literacy to develop meaningful mental models, and autonomy to make informed choices. Through interdisciplinary research spanning design, law, economics, sociology, and computer science, I aim to create tools and methods that reveal the invisible mechanisms of algorithmic power and restore human agency in an age of AI.
One approach is the algorithm audit—a rigorous methodology for interrogating opaque systems and establishing credible assurance that they operate as intended and without harm. My work has shown that awareness transforms people's relationship with technology: when participants discovered algorithmic curation in their feeds, initial outrage gave way to power as they learned to "manipulate the manipulation." I envision expanding auditing practices into everyday behavior, making them as routine as checking nutritional labels, while developing governance frameworks that align with both community norms and the law.
Our new book, Auditing AI, coming out in April 2026, covers our auditing approaches and the lawsuit that helped redefine hacking law so that audits are not a federal crime.
A more comprehensive list may be found on Google Scholar.