Published in Science as Culture (Ahead of Print, 2026)
The Risks of Industry Influence in Tech Research
Emerging information technologies like social media, search engines, and AI can have a broad impact on public health, political institutions, social dynamics, and the natural world. It is critical to develop a scientific understanding of these impacts to inform evidence-based technology policy that minimizes harm and maximizes benefits. Unlike most other global-scale scientific challenges, however, the data necessary for scientific progress are generated and controlled by the same industry that might be subject to evidence-based regulation. Moreover, technology companies historically have been, and continue to be, a major source of funding for this field. These asymmetries in information and funding raise significant concerns about the potential for undue industry influence on the scientific record. In this Perspective, we explore how technology companies can influence our scientific understanding of their products. We argue that science faces unique challenges in the context of technology research that will require strengthening existing safeguards and constructing wholly new ones.
The Politics of Open Infrastructures: Power, Governance, and Justice in Digital Knowledge Practices
This volume examines how openness is designed, governed, contested and lived in contemporary digital knowledge infrastructures. From open source software and internet standards, to citizen science platforms, public sector data systems and alternative computing practices, the book shows that infrastructures are never neutral technical backbones.
Who Will Keep Research Data Infrastructure Open and Running?
The scientific community must consider the longevity of open research infrastructure—why it might fail and how to prevent it.
Who Will Keep Research Data Infrastructure Open and Running?
The scientific community must consider the longevity of open research infrastructure—why it might fail and how to prevent it.
A Polycentric Governance Lens on Data Infrastructures
Funding policies for data infrastructure promote open data sharing to drive positive social impact. However, concerns regarding the long-term management of data within and across distributed infrastructures can hinder data sharing. We draw upon the concept of polycentric governance to demonstrate how collaborative practices of data curation, in preparing and maintaining data for (future) sharing, provide a solid foundation for understanding data governance within data infrastructures. Based on a qualitative case study of a distributed ecological network, we investigate the conditions under which data are managed as a shared resource by local actors to ensure the long-term (re)usability of data. We contribute to CSCW by conceptualising data curation as a complex form of governance practice with multiple centres of decision-making, each of which operates with some degree of autonomy in data infrastructures. A polycentric governance lens on data infrastructures advances the CSCW conception of data curation as a collective governance practice that can cultivate a data democracy culture within and across organisations, empower individuals to be accountable for their data, and foster a mindset shift toward decentralised data governance.
Data Feminism
Today, data science is a form of power. It has been used to expose injustice, improve health outcomes, and topple governments. But it has also been used to d...
The Drain of Scientific Publishing
The domination of scientific publishing in the Global North by major commercial publishers is harmful to science. We need the most powerful members of the research community, funders, governments and Universities, to lead the drive to re-communalise publishing to serve science not the market.
A Data Utopia for Science-of-Science
Here I want to briefly sketch out a vision for how to solve a key set of problems facing science-of-science researchers, using the relatively new idea of a ‘data trust.’ In my ideal wor…
Home - Data & Society
Data & Society believes that technology policy must be grounded in research, account for tech’s real-world impacts, and serve the public.
Broadening Access to Data Science Education in High School and Higher Education through Open Source Tools, Infrastructure, and Training
Equitable data science education requires a multifaceted approach, involving high school and higher education, community involvement, and accessible tools. A renewed investment in public digital infrastructure is needed to support these efforts. Nonprofits play a crucial role in supporting these efforts, and increased representation in leadership can enhance their impact. By addressing these disparities, we can ensure a more inclusive future in data science.
Open Science Network
Reclaim scientific discourse with federated digital spaces where researchers shape their own conversations, data, and collaborations
Data Feminism
A new way of thinking about data science and data ethics that is informed by the ideas of intersectional feminism.Today, data science is a form of power. I
The Current Crisis: What's Happening to Science in America
Empowering science communities with open, democratic, researcher-owned infrastructure.
We’re building communities and tech for publishing, curating, sharing, and discussing research online using ATProto and other decentralized protocols.
Empowering science communities with open, democratic, researcher-owned infrastructure.
We’re building communities and tech for publishing, curating, sharing, and discussing research online using ATProto and other decentralized protocols.
👀 "Rather than viewing citizen science merely as crowdsourced data collection or computational tools as autonomous infrastructure, we advocate for human-machine systems in which citizen scientists, including distributed publics, participate as monitors, interpreters...and co-producers of knowledge."
