Derek Garcia
MIT EECS | CS+HASS Undergraduate Research and Innovation Scholar
Taming AI: Analysis and Remedies of the Unintended Consequences of AI-Powered Social Media
2021–2022
EECS
- CS+HASS
Asuman E. Ozdaglar
We are a multi-disciplinary team investigating human decision-making within AI-powered large-scale socio-technological systems. We are interested in developing principles for optimizing such systems to preserve the well-being of their users and promote positive societal outcomes.
We intend to develop a fundamental understanding of how human behavior and cognition on digital platforms interact with platform algorithms and incentives. As a first step, we will examine two individual-level factors: individual preferences and knowledge, and cognitive weaknesses. We will then incorporate into our inquiry a systematic study of the incentives and strategies of technology platforms.
I am participating in SuperUROP to get the most out of the research opportunities offered. My summer experiences interning at social media companies allow me to understand what goals they chase. I hope to learn what it takes to create an academic grade research project and be able to share my findings with all types of parties. I am excited to apply a whole array of knowledge that I have learned during my time at MIT.