I am a civic technologist and a Ph.D. candidate in Digital Media at Georgia Tech, working with Dr. Yanni Loukissas and Dr. Richmond Wong. I am research intern at the Public AI Network, helping build public AI infrastructure for public use! I am also a researcher at metaLAB (at) Harvard, working with Sarah Newman.
My research interests center around a field called Civic Technologies with a specific focus on public interest technologies and digital public infrastructure. In my research, I apply a sociotechnical lens to using emerging technologies (of course, including AI!) for collective intelligence. Specifically, I examine how diverse social groups interact with and shape sociotechincal knowledge infrastructures in collective and civic spaces. My research challenges traditional approaches to civic technology development by centering local communities' and citizens' experiences, and knowledge systems. Through this work, I aim to contribute to theoretical understanding and practical applications of intelligent civic platforms for collectives. My work intersects with design, philosophy, computer science, and urban policy.
I have also conducted research at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University. researching integration of LLMs within social media and algorithmic bias in public platforms. I was previously a Fulbright Scholar at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, where I explored the implications of Artificial Intelligence on architectural practice and design, as well as the ethics and politics of surveillance technologies in urban contexts in the Global South. During my undergraduate studies at Indus Valley School of Art & Architecture, Karachi, Pakistan, I focused on using architecture to design sustainable social systems in urban contexts. I graduated with the Founders’ Award, the highest graduating honor, and a national award for “Socially Responsible Architecture.”
My work has been presented at various leading academic conferences and venues, including the NeurIPS, ACM CSCW, ACM CHI, ACM DIS, Society for Social Studies of Science (4S), Smithsonian National Museum of American History, Harvard’s Berkman Klein Center, Columbia GSAPP, among others.
In my free time, I enjoy being a hobbyist musician and a coffee aficionado!
My research interests center around a field called Civic Technologies with a specific focus on public interest technologies and digital public infrastructure. In my research, I apply a sociotechnical lens to using emerging technologies (of course, including AI!) for collective intelligence. Specifically, I examine how diverse social groups interact with and shape sociotechincal knowledge infrastructures in collective and civic spaces. My research challenges traditional approaches to civic technology development by centering local communities' and citizens' experiences, and knowledge systems. Through this work, I aim to contribute to theoretical understanding and practical applications of intelligent civic platforms for collectives. My work intersects with design, philosophy, computer science, and urban policy.
I have also conducted research at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University. researching integration of LLMs within social media and algorithmic bias in public platforms. I was previously a Fulbright Scholar at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, where I explored the implications of Artificial Intelligence on architectural practice and design, as well as the ethics and politics of surveillance technologies in urban contexts in the Global South. During my undergraduate studies at Indus Valley School of Art & Architecture, Karachi, Pakistan, I focused on using architecture to design sustainable social systems in urban contexts. I graduated with the Founders’ Award, the highest graduating honor, and a national award for “Socially Responsible Architecture.”
My work has been presented at various leading academic conferences and venues, including the NeurIPS, ACM CSCW, ACM CHI, ACM DIS, Society for Social Studies of Science (4S), Smithsonian National Museum of American History, Harvard’s Berkman Klein Center, Columbia GSAPP, among others.
In my free time, I enjoy being a hobbyist musician and a coffee aficionado!
⊠ UPDATES:
- 09/25: Our paper on Local LLMs was accepted to NeurIPS 2025 Alogrithimic Collective Action Workshop!
- 09/25: Selected as a Finalist for the Georgia Tech Foley Scholars Award!
- 09/25: Presented on the “Sociotechnical Perspectives on Public Interest Technologies” panel at 4S Annual Meeting
- 08/25: Awarded The Collective Impact of Cultural Technologies fellowship at Georgia Tech!
- 08/25: My paper on “Epistemic Breakdowns in Civic Tech” was accepted at the Information+ Conference!
- 08/25: My paper on “Credibility Boosters” was accepted to ACM CSCW 2025 - https://doi.org/10.1145/3757573
- 08/25: Selected to serve on the Emerging Leaders Advisory Board (ELAB) at Georgia Tech for AY 2025 - 2026
- 07/25: Graduated from the Oxford Internet Institute and UC Berkeley iSchool Summer Doctoral Programme in Berkeley, California!
- 06/25: Joined Public AI Network as Research Intern
- 03/25: Gave a talk on “The Unmappable Atlas: Reclaiming space from AI’s gaze” as part of Atlanta Interdisciplinary Artificial Intelligence Network’s workshop series
- 02/25: Our paper “Promoting youth advocacy for resilience to disasters: a pilot study” is out now - https://doi.org/10.1080/13552074.2024.2415224
- 11/24: Successfully defended my dissertation proposal! Moved to PhD Candidacy
- 11/24: Gave a talk on technology and architecture futures at the Institute of Architects’ Pakistan’s conference in Lahore
- 10/24: Presented my research at the National Women’s Studies Conference in Michigan
- 02/24: Became a research affiliate of the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University
- 11/23: Presented my research at 4S 2023 on two panels: “Collective Action in a Datafied World” and “Decolonizing Data Infrastructures: Pluralizing Imaginaries and Histories of Datafication”
- 10/23: Joined metaLAB (at) Harvard & FU Berlin as a Researcher!
- 10/23: Awarded best paper at PIT-UN annual convening 2023
- 09/23: Gave a talk on “Architectural Futures: Thinking about Design, Cities and Architecture” at UET Lahore, School of Architecture
- 08/23: Graduated from NSF I-Corp program
- 07/23: Participated in DIS workshop on Designing for Resilience and Wellbeing
- 06/23: Joined the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University as a summer researcher
- 05/23: Successfully passed my PhD qualifier exams!
- 05/23: Gave a talk at the Atlanta Air Quality Symposium at Georgia Tech
- 04/23: Participated in ACM CHI Workshop on “Design X Policy”
