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 engineer at the Public AI Network, helping build public AI infrastructure for public use!

My research interests center around a field called Civic Technologies with a specific focus on collective intelligence and digital public infrastructure. In my research, I apply a sociotechnical lens to using emerging technologies (of course, including AI!) for civic systems. Specifically, I examine how 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 was a researcher at metaLAB at Harvard where I helped led projects on AI pedagogy and critical examinations of technologies. 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 on 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 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!