Ata Uslu

Hi! Ata here. I’m a computer scientist and a doctoral researcher in network science at Northeastern University. I study the societal impact of technology –particularly artificial intelligence and social networks– using computational methods. My research bridges technology adoption, human–technology interaction, technology governance, and political and psychological behavior in digital contexts. I combine large-scale data analysis, (generative) agent-based modeling, surveys, and experimental design.

I’ve published in journals such as JAMA Network Open, Nature Neuropsychopharmacology, and the Journal of Affective Disorders, and have written about technology’s influence on public health behavior for The Washington Post. My work has also been featured in major media outlets including The New York Times, The Atlantic, The Washington Post, and others. I love everything about the human–technology–politics interplay, and on an average day, I try to make sense of it with large amounts of data. My advisor and mentor is David Lazer.

I’m a recipient of the Karl Menger Award from the American Mathematical Society for my findings in discrete mathematics, and the Mitofsky Innovators Award from the American Association for Public Opinion Research, awarded to the CHIP50 project team for advancing public opinion research infrastructure. CHIP50 is the largest ongoing online survey in the United States, and I co-developed it with an amazing team of PIs.

Before my Boston adventure, I earned bachelor’s degrees in Computer Science and Electrical Engineering from Koç University in Istanbul. I completed my third year at TU Munich and interned at BMW as a software developer. I later served as a Team Lead for the IT Governance and Cybersecurity department at Turkish Airlines. Then I returned to academia—eventually writing this bio for you to read.

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I talk about AI all the time. This time, it gets the mic – and it’s talking about me (v: GPT-4o)