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 also a researcher at metaLAB (at) Harvard, working with Sarah Newman, and a research affiliate of the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University.
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 building emerging technologies (of course, including AI!) for civic engagement among diverse social groups with a focus on epistemic injustices. Specifically, I examine how diverse social groups interact with and shape technological interventions in 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 AI-enabled civic platforms. My work intersects with design, philosophy, computer science, and urban policy.
I recently spent a summer at Harvard’s Berkman Klein Center with Institue for Rebooting Social Media researching integeration of LLMs within social media. 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 ethics and politics of surveillance technologies in urban contexts in the Global South. During my undergradute 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 venues and conferences, including the ACM CHI, ACM DIS, Society for Social Studies of Science, Smithsonian National Museum of American History, Harvard’s Berkman Klein Center, Columbia GSAPP, UET Lahore, 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 building emerging technologies (of course, including AI!) for civic engagement among diverse social groups with a focus on epistemic injustices. Specifically, I examine how diverse social groups interact with and shape technological interventions in 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 AI-enabled civic platforms. My work intersects with design, philosophy, computer science, and urban policy.
I recently spent a summer at Harvard’s Berkman Klein Center with Institue for Rebooting Social Media researching integeration of LLMs within social media. 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 ethics and politics of surveillance technologies in urban contexts in the Global South. During my undergradute 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 venues and conferences, including the ACM CHI, ACM DIS, Society for Social Studies of Science, Smithsonian National Museum of American History, Harvard’s Berkman Klein Center, Columbia GSAPP, UET Lahore, among others.
In my free time, I enjoy being a hobbyist musician and a coffee aficionado!
⊠ UPDATES:
- 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”
