Founder of Data & Society; partner researcher at Microsoft Research; visiting distinguished professor at Georgetown University

danah boyd

danah boyd examines sociotechnical vulnerabilities at the interstices of technology and society in an effort to remedy structural inequities

danah boyd is the founder of Data & Society, a partner researcher at Microsoft Research, and a visiting distinguished professor at Georgetown University. Her research is focused on making certain that society has a nuanced understanding of the relationship between technology and society, especially as issues of inequity and bias emerge. boyd served on Data & Society’s Board of Directors from 2013 to 2023 and was board president from 2013 to 2022. She now serves the organization as an advisor.

boyd is the author of It’s Complicated: The Social Lives of Networked Teens, and has authored or co-authored numerous books, articles, and essays. She is currently working on a book about the 2020 US Census. She is an advisor to the Electronic Privacy Information Center and the Partnership for Public Service, and was previously a trustee of the National Museum of the American Indian, a director of the Social Science Research Council, and a director of Crisis Text Line. She has been recognized by numerous organizations, including receiving the Electronic Frontier Foundation’s Pioneer/Barlow Award and being selected as a 2011 Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum. Originally trained in computer science before retraining under anthropologists, boyd has a PhD from the University of California at Berkeley’s School of Information.

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  • blog post
    Points
    D&S founder danah boyd declares: “It’s not Cyberspace anymore.” While at Davos, danah reflects on the 20 years since John Perry Barlow wrote "A Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace". "There is a power shift unde... Read on Points
    February 2016
  • blog post
    Points
    "We didn’t architect for prejudice, but we didn’t design systems to combat it either." Points: “What World Are We Building?” is adapted, with permission, from a talk of the same name. On October 20, 2015, Data & Society ... Read on Points
    January 2016
  • blog post
    Medium
    D&S founder danah boyd considers recent efforts at reforming laws around student privacy and what it would mean to actually consider the privacy rights of the most marginalized students. The threats that poor youth face? T... Read on Medium
    May 2015
  • blog post
    Medium
    In this piece, D&S founder danah boyd considers the interwoven political and social goals of education and, in light of these goals, the different ways one can interpret the personalized learning agenda in education. She al... Read on Medium
    April 2015
  • blog post
    Medium
    Fairness is one of those values that Americans love to espouse. It’s just as beloved in technical circles, where it’s often introduced as one of the things that “neutral” computers do best. We collectively perceive ourselves an... Read on Medium
    September 2014
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