Affordances
I’m interested in how social forces figure into design. I wrote a book about technological affordances, presenting an operational framework applicable to any technology—broadly conceived. I’ve run workshops with technologists about applying the affordance framework to their own product development and assessment, and worked with a diversity of scholars and practitioners to think about affordances as they operate throughout myriad domains (e.g., policy, race relations, disability, and the body). As applied to AI and machine learning, I’ve argued that affordances can be a vital tool for integrating principles and practices. I’m interested in if and how that works within real-world spaces of AI development.

Algorithmic Reparation
AI and machine learning perpetuate social inequities. Efforts towards ‘fairness’ have dominated corrections to this problem, but those corrections have yet to work. Algorithmic reparation is an alternative to fairness, focusing instead in reparative justice. Here’s an academic article, a popular press article, and a workshop from 2022—all in collaboration with Apryl Williams (University of Michigan). There will be a special issue in Big Data & Society coming out in 2024, reflecting a community of scholars working to displace ‘fair’.

Role-Taking and Basic Questions in Social Psychology
I’m interested in the basic social psychological processes of role-taking and how those intersect with a) social status and b) new technologies. Check out my role-taking work in collaboration with Tony P. Love, Anne Groggel and others.