Stephen Yang | Researching Technology Futures

I'm Stephen Yang, researching

futures of emerging technologies

PhD Researcher @ USC Annenberg。NSF Graduate Research Fellow
Responsible AI。Science and Technology Studies。Critical Innovation Studies。Futures Studies
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Who's Stephen?

I'm Stephen Yang, a writer, researcher, technologist, and futurist. My research investigates the temporal politics of computational media, particularly those under the banner of artificial intelligence. I work to rethink how we can build and imagine futures otherwise.
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Presently, I'm pursuing my PhD at the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Southern California, where I'm supported by the National Science Foundation's Graduate Research Fellowship (NSF GRFP).

My research offers critically oriented principles of technology design and policy. I have held research appointments at Microsoft Research (Social Media Collective), Center for Democracy & Technology (AI Governance Lab), and Partnership on AI.

I'm always open to new connections and opportunities. You can find me on X (formerly Twitter) or reach out to me at stepheny [at] usc [dot] edu.

Research Agenda

My research scrutinizes how speed manifests as the aspirations and telos of technology innovation — and the paradoxes this introduces. I interrogate why certain technological futures are valorized over others — and how we can dream of futures otherwise. Presently, I am tracing how generative AI is brought forth as a speculative project of the “acceleration of acceleration” through trend reporting, prototype demos, and regulatory sandboxes. In doing so, I foreground the ethico-political tensions between speeding up and slowing down, between speculation and anticipation, and between possibility and inevitability.

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In the past...

I hold a B.S. in Communication and Information Science from Cornell University, where I graduated as the Degree Marshal of the Cornell Ann S. Bowers College of Computing and Information Science, a Merrill Presidential Scholar, and a Rawlings Presidential Research Scholar.

Outside of academia, I have worked in journalism and advertising at organizations such as the Taipei Times and Wunderman Thompson.

Growing up in Taiwan, I witnessed firsthand the rapid changes that accompanied the rise of networked media and the computing industries, through which I became intrigued by the ambivalence of innovation.

Recent Updates

2024

Summer' 24 — I interned at the Center for Democracy & Technology, where I work on AI policy research as part of the AI Governance Lab! As I spent my summer in Washington, D.C., I was participated in the Consortium on Media Policy Studies (COMPASS).

June 2024 — I presented a paper at the annual conference of the International Communication Association (ICA)! As part of a panel on genAI and cultural production, I discussed news media's projected futures of generative AI amidst the 2023 Hollywood strikes.
April 2024 — I received funding from the Center on Science, Technology, and Public Life at USC to study the future imaginaries of Hollywood with the advent of AI.
Jan 2024 — I just presented our EAAMO'23 paper on participatory approaches to AI design (co-authored with Fernando Delgado, Michael Madaio, and Qian Yang) for Data & Society's series on participatory methods series on AI design and accountability!

Diversity and Inclusion

I'm a queer person of color who was born and raised outside of the United States. As someone who have affiliations with elite institutions, I often sit in between marginality and privilege. To put my commitment to diversity and inclusion in practice, I actively seek ways to reduce barriers to success for those coming from marginalized backgrounds. This often translates to sharing tacit knowledge I acquired from prior experience and from my position of privilege.

Are you a marginalized person contemplating a career in research or responsible AI? Send me an email with any questions you may have at stepheny[at] usc [dot] edu.