Hi, I’m Sebastian!

I’m currently working as a design engineer and researcher for
metaLAB (at) Harvard while studying at the Oxford Internet Institute

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 have a Bachelor of Information from the University of Toronto, and am completing an MSc in Social Science of the Internet from the Oxford Internet Institute at 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

Conference Posters

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

Talks & Presentations

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

Publications

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

Recent Employment

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 Designer & Developer / Research Assistant

University of Toronto

SEP 2022 – SEP 2024