Ziv Epstein

 
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Hi! I'm Ziv, a computer scientist, designer and computational social scientist based in Somerville, MA.

I'm a SERC Postdoctoral Associate at the Schwartzman College of Computing at MIT, where I am advised by Manish Raghavan and Caroline Jones. Before that, I was a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered AI, where I worked with Michael Bernstein, and Johan Ugander. I 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. How do we move away from an attention economy, and towards an attention ecology? At the MIT Schwartzman CCollege of Computing, I currently run the Medium is the Mess SERC Group (Social and Ethical Responsibilities of Computing). In my postdoctoral work, I am working to embed individual and societal values into social media ranking algorithms. 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. Outside of the lab, I like exploring extreme environments, building geodesic domes, and making lemonade.

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.

  ðŸš¨I am on the job market! Feel free to reach out with any leads🚨   I am looking for both faculty positions and research positions within industry.


Short academic bio:
Ziv Epstein is a Postdoctoral Associate at the Schwartzman College of Computing at MIT. 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 (b. Boulder, CO 1994) is a performance and sculpture artist and academic researcher based in Somerville, MA. His practice explores the indeterminacy of a random universe and networked systems of knowledge. He is interested in ritual interventions that nurture agency and care in the age of increased technological alienation. 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.

Headshot. Other photos:

In the News

Will AI kill human creativity? NPR (WHYY Studio2). 10/17/2025.
Why Does AI Art Look Like That? The Atlantic. 8/16/2024.
Stanford Fellow, Cambridge Artist Talk Art and Generative AI at Harvard Ethics Center Panel. The Crimson. 10/24/2023.
Generative AI is a minefield for copyright law. The Conversation. 7/15/2023.
If art is how we express our humanity, where does AI fit in? MIT News. 6/15/2023.
AI makes it possible to falsify information and people, and endangers democratic regime. Haaretz (Israel). 7/14/2023.
If art is how we express our humanity, where does AI fit in? MIT News. 6/15/2023.
On social media platforms, more sharing means less caring about accuracy. MIT News. 3/3/2023.
Is the Panic Over AI Art Overblown? We Speak With Artists and Experts. Vice News. 2/22/2023.
How AI-generated art is changing the concept of art itself. LA Times. 9/21/2022.
An AI-powered séance is resurrecting the dead: How different art forms are reimagining the horror genre. Grid News. 10/28/2022.
A ‘Virtual Rapper’ Was Fired. Questions About Art and Tech Remain. New York Times. 9/6/2022.
Dust, costumes, weirdness — and science: Burning Man is back. Axios. 8/26/2022.
When machine learning meets surrealist art meets Reddit, you get DALL-E mini. NPR. 7/5/2022.
The faker: Deepfakes, lies, and cheerleading. WBUR. 4/22/2022.
Are You Better Than a Machine at Spotting a Deepfake? Scientific American. 4/15/2022.
A remedy for the spread of false news? MIT News. 03/17/2021.
Google and MIT prove social media can slow the spread of fake news. Fast Company. 6/4/21.
How We Talk About AI Affects Who Gets Credit For AI Art. Forbes. 10/26/2020.
People’s notions about AI are terrible, an MIT study asks whether they can be helped. ZDNet. 9/18/2020.
The Creepiest Thing Online This Week Is An AI That Creates Digital Ghosts. Digg. 10/31/2018.
AI is making Halloween so much spookier. Fast Company. 10/30/2018.
To understand digital advertising, study its algorithms. The Economist. 3/22/2018.
The Trick to Acting Heroically. New York Times. 8/30/2015.
The secret of extreme heroes: They don’t overthink. Washington Post. 8/24/2015.
The science of extreme altruism: why people risk their lives to save strangers. Vox. 10/15/2014.