Hi, I’m Sebastian!
I am a researcher and design engineer working for metaLAB (at) Harvard.
Select Projects
Helping educators critically and creatively engage with AI
metaLAB (at) Harvard • 2023 – Present
Investigating U.S. disinformation capabilities and strategies
University of Toronto • 2024
Helping educators reflect on their teaching and learning practice
STLHE • 2024
Teaching students to embrace, learn, and bounce back from failure
University of Toronto • 2022 – 2024
Visualizing how radio wave technologies shape our world
metaLAB (at) Harvard • 2024
Mapping domestic Predator drone deployments in the U.S.
Independent Project • 2023
About
I’m a design engineer and researcher at metaLAB within the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University. My research explores critical surveillance and security studies, algorithmic governance and critical data practices, digital humanities, and pedagogical development. At metaLAB, I am the lead engineer and designer of the AI Pedagogy Project, where I’m building digital tools that help educators critically and creatively engage with AI in the classroom. I hold a Bachelor of Information from the University of Toronto and a MSc in Social Science of the Internet from the University of Oxford.
Outside of metaLAB, I work as a research collaborator with the Data Nutrition Project, where I contribute to the organization’s efforts to mitigate AI bias through educational initiatives. I’m also affiliated with several interdisciplinary research and educational initiatives, including the Failure: Learning in Progress Project at the University of Toronto, the REFLECT Project at the Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, and the Beyond Disinformation Research Cluster, a collaboration between researchers at the Universities of Manchester, Melbourne, and Toronto.
Areas of Research
Internet Studies
Human-Centered AI
Digital Humanities
Privacy and Surveillance
Human-Computer Interaction
Critical Security Studies
University Pedagogy
Preserving the Past, Generating the Future: How Archivists Can Contribute to Generative AI’s Development
Association of Canadian Archivists Annual Conference
June 12, 2024 • With C. Thierstein
Facing the Fallout: The Private Military Contractors Protecting America’s Nuclear Arsenal
DH Fest 2024 at the University of Toronto
April 9, 2024
Dark Patterns: Deception and Manipulation in UX Design
Critical Digital Humanities International Conference
October 1, 2022 • With M. Iantorno & D. Guadagnolo
The United States of Surveillance
Digital Humanities Summer Institute (DHSI) Conference and Colloquium
June 18, 2021
Shaping Reality: How America Wages (Dis)Information Warfare
Beyond Disinformation Research Symposium by the Universities of Manchester, Melbourne, & Toronto
October 7, 2024
Dark Patterns: Where Marketing Meets UX Design
University of Toronto CDHI Emerging Scholar Showcase
April 22, 2022
The United States of Surveillance: A Review of America’s Mass Surveillance Laws, Programs, and Oversight
Interdisciplinary Digital Engagement in Arts & Humanities (IDEAH), 3(2)
2022
My Work
Design Engineer & Researcher
metaLAB (at) Harvard, Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society
JUN 2023 – Present
Research Collaborator
Data Nutrition Project
NOV 2024 – PRESENT
Web Designer & Research Engineer
Society for Teaching & Learning in Higher Education
Apr 2024 – Sep 2024
Web Developer & Research Assistant
University of Toronto
SEP 2022 – SEP 2024