Ziv Epstein

Hi! I'm Ziv, a computer scientist, designer and computational social scientist based in Santa Cruz, CA.

I'm a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered AI, where I work with Erik Brynjolfsson, Michael Bernstein, and Johan Ugander. I recently completed my PhD at the MIT Media Lab, where I was co-advised by David Rand and Sandy Pentland.

In my research, I seek to bring a (more-than-)human-centered approach to the design of sociotechnical systems. In particular, I focus on translating insights from design and the social sciences into the development of generative AI and social media platforms. In my dissertation, I explored ways to conceptualize and navigate attention online in order develop interventions to mitigate the spread of misinformation and to promote collective intelligence: how do we move away from an attention economy, and towards an attention ecology? Outside of the lab, I like exploring extreme environments and building geodesic domes.

I have published papers in venues such as the general interest journals Nature, Science and PNAS , as well as top-tier computer science proceedings such as CHI and CSCW. My work has also received widespread media attention in outlets like the New York Times, Scientific American, and Fast Company. I am also a practicing multimedia artist whose work has been featured in Ars Electronica, the MIT Museum, and Burning Man.


Short academic bio:
Ziv Epstein is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered AI. In his research, he focuses on translating insights from design and the social sciences into the development of sociotechnical systems such as generative AI and social media platforms. Ziv has published papers in venues such as the general interest journals Nature, Science and PNAS , as well as top-tier computer science proceedings such as CHI and CSCW. His work has also received widespread media attention in outlets like the New York Times, Scientific American, and NPR.

Short artist bio:
Ziv Epstein is a American multi-media artist whose artworks are concerned with critical worldbuilding and human agency in era of artificial intelligence. Ziv's work has been exhibited at Ars Electronica, New Art City, The Vienna Museum of Technology, Muzeum Sztuki, the MIT Museum, and Burning Man. His work has been featured in outlets like the New York Times, Scientific American, and NPR.

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