Writing

Essays, Research, & Fiction.

Select writings from my published research papers, essays, and fiction writing. Broadly spanning my work in technology ethics, education, community development, sci-fi, and philosophical reflections. Use the quick links to jump to the section you're most interested in.

Technology Ethics

'You’re in a Ferrari, I’m Waiting for the Bus': Confronting Tensions in Community-University Partnerships

We interviewed community members about their views of collaborating with local universities and technologists to build guidance for ethical partnerships between communities and universities..

CSCW · 2025
From Preference Elicitation to Participatory ML: A Critical Survey & Guidelines for Future Research

An analysis of participatory machine learning literature synthesizing what meaningful participation means to empower stakeholders in ML Design.

AIES · 2023
What's at Stake: Characterizing Risk Perceptions of Emerging Technologies

A survey study looking at how experts and non-experts perceive and evaluate risks posed by emerging technologies.

SIG-CHI · 2018
Is a Privacy Crisis Experienced, a Privacy Crisis Avoided?

A review of how an experiential immersive theater project may actually be what can open people's eyes about privacy issues they often ignore until its a crisis.

Communications of the ACM · 2022
Tech Help Desk: Support for Local Entrepreneurs Addressing the Long Tail of Computing Challenges

Following 4 years of running an open tech help desk at our community center, we studied the needs of truly helping entrepreneurs in resource-constrained communities.

CHI · 2022
Ad Empathy: A Design Fiction

What if APIs told us what companies really did with our data?

ACM GROUP · 2018
The Authority of 'Fair' in Machine Learning

An analysis and critique of the concept of 'fairness' in Machine Learning as used in the modern CS literature

FATML · 2017
More Than a Show: Using Personalized Immersive Theater to Educate and Engage the Public in Technology Ethics

A review of the impacts of a novel immersive theater show focused on teaching the public about the ethics of how their data is used.

SIG-CHI · 2018
Designing a Moral Compass for the Future of Computer Vision using Speculative Analysis

Leveraging techniques from future studies and speculative analysis to discuss the ethical horizon of computer vision.

CVPR · 2017
Tech companies want your data, and concerns go far beyond privacy

A Denver Post op-ed about the concerning realities of the data market that are shaping our future.

Denver Post · 2017
Coding For Respect

A practical framework for evaluating the ethics of autonomous machine action.

Dissertation Chapter · 2017

Curriculum & Pedagogy

Ethics Education in Context: A Case Study of Novel Ethics Activities for the CS Classroom

A look at how ethics can and should be taught within computing education and professional development.

SIG-CSE · 2018
Beyond the Flipped Classroom: Learning by Doing Through Challenges and Hack-a-thons

A model for teaching computer science through active learning inspired by flipped classroom methods. Published in ACM SIG-SCE 2015

SIG-CSE · 2015
How Neural Networks Learn

An accessible walkthrough of how neural networks learn, written for a general audience curious about the mechanics behind AI.

Essay · 2016
Integrating Ethics into Machine Learning Courses

A practical guide with examples for how to teach ethics in technical machine learning courses.

ACM Transactions · 2019
Quantified Self: An Interdisciplinary Immersive Theater Project Supporting a Collaborative Learning Environment for CS Ethics

An assessment of the educational impact on students in participating in a cross-disciplinary theater production about computing ethics. Published in ACM SIG-CSE 2018

Essay · 2018

Fiction

Dream Date

A Spec Fic on the future of data ownership and brain data -- What if the future of romantic matching was based on our dreams?

Sci-Fi · 2016
Death of a Lunch Lady

Semi-autobiographical literary fiction about a tragedy that occurred in my hometown.

Literary · 2014
Private Life of American Psychology

First Chapters of a Novel Draft I was working on in the early 2010s. About the relationship of our psychology and the information we receive starting with characters and the formation of media ideas in the 90s.

Draft - Novel · 2013
Matter of Interpretation

Literary fiction based on real family dramas and the TV show 'The Office'.

Literary · 2013

Philosophy & Politics

Reflections on Dewey and the Pursuit of Democracy

Drawing on John Dewey's philosophy to examine what genuine democratic participation requires in contemporary life.

Essay · 2014
Modern Science and the Sellarsian Worry

A philosophy essay about the tension between physical reductionism and anti-reductionism in the philosophy of science, attempting to alleviate this tension by pointing out a conceptual misunderstanding.

Essay · 2012