Research

My research integrates rigorous mixed-method studies with practical system-building, focusing on how AI-powered civic technologies can empower communities to shape their digital and social experiences.

Current Research Areas

Personalized & Community-driven Moderation

Online spaces are increasingly dominated by centralized content moderation approaches that fail to address diverse community needs. My research develops tools that empower users and communities—rather than centralized platforms—to define and manage their online experiences.

This work includes:

  • Designing and evaluating personalized content filtering mechanisms that respect user agency
  • Exploring how AI can support community-defined moderation standards
  • Investigating how different stakeholders perceive fairness in moderation systems

Policy & Governance in Social Computing

I’m interested in democratizing decision-making around content moderation and platform governance. This research stream examines:

  • How platforms can implement more transparent governance models
  • The tension between platform/corporate interests and community well-being
  • Design interventions that reduce risks of centralized control, biases, and echo chambers

Ethics of Attention Economy & Pro-Social Platforms

Current social media platforms are designed to maximize engagement, often at the expense of user well-being and social cohesion. My research in this area:

  • Critiques existing attention economy designs
  • Develops alternatives that prioritize community well-being over engagement metrics
  • Creates and evaluates scalable systems aligned with users’ values rather than advertising metrics

AI in Unconventional Contexts (Spiritual/Social Computing)

I’m exploring how AI and social computing might support deeper and more reflective experiences online. This emerging research direction investigates:

  • How AI might facilitate more meaningful connections in digital spaces
  • The role of technology in supporting spiritual and contemplative practices
  • Expanding our understanding of what digital communities can be, who they serve, and how they function beyond commercial interests

Previous Research

My previous work has examined technology in marginalized and underserved communities, with a focus on how technology adoption reflects and sometimes reinforces existing social dynamics:

Healthcare Accessibility for Marginalized Communities

Dakter Bari (CSCW’21)
This project focused on extending healthcare systems to extremely impoverished people in Bangladesh. We designed, developed, and deployed an intermediary-based solution that bridges the gap between available healthcare services and marginalized populations without access to technology.

System Model of Dakter Bari

Platform Economics and Social Inequality

Uber in Bangladesh (CSCW’21)
This study examined how ridesharing platforms operate in Global South contexts, revealing how the local adoption of technology-based sharing economies can amplify existing inequalities and disrupt prevailing social dynamics.

How Uber in Bangladesh deviates from traditional sharing economy

Technology Resilience During Crisis

Technology Repair During COVID-19 (COMPASS’21)
This work documented how repair and e-waste worker communities adapted to pandemic restrictions, and how end-users developed new repair practices when formal repair services became unavailable.

Publications

For a complete list of my publications, please see my Google Scholar profile.