About Me

Hi, I’m Michael Ann (she/her)! I am an incoming Assistant Professor of Computer Science and Communication Studies at Northeastern University, where I am building a lab that takes a transfeminist, community-focused, HCI-based approach to responsible AI and machine learning in the context of social computing systems.

I am currently building out my lab and am open to new collaborations, especially around Human-Centered Machine Learning & AI, health, and AI/ML policy/regulation. Starting this fall, I will also be accepting graduate students through the Computer Science program in the Khoury College of Computer Sciences and the Interdisciplinary Design and Media program in the College of Arts, Media and Design. I primarily train students in qualitative computer science, design, and critical methods.

I am an interdisciplinary social/behavioral scientist working in Human-Computer Interaction and Social Computing. I specialize in Human-Artificial Intelligence Collaboration in the context of social systems, especially social platforms. My research closes gaps in understanding between users and AI-driven social systems to enable sustainable, intentional, and mutually beneficial Human-AI collaboration. I develop and employ in-depth, qualitative, participatory methods to examine and address friction and distrust-inducing disconnects, often in the context of marginalized identity and communities. I contribute both new theory and practical design implications, drawing from and building on work in Human-Centered Computing (HCC), Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW), Computer Mediated Communication (CMC), Social Computing, and Cognitive Psychology. 

I do much of this work as a member-researcher, bringing my research expertise to communities that I am a part of, such as the LGBTQ+ community. I embrace my identity as a transgender woman, lesbian, and neurodivergent person in my research, and encourage others to do the same. I also mentor junior researchers who want to learn how to do this kind of research in their own marginalized communities. 

I am currently a Postdoctoral Computing Innovation Fellow in the Department of Information Science at the University of Colorado Boulder, where I work in the Identity Lab. Prior to coming to CU Boulder, I earned my PhD in Media, Technology, and Society at Northwestern University‘s School of Communication, where I also specialized in Cognitive Science and worked in the Social Media Lab.

In the very small sliver of my life that exists outside the bounds of academia, I’m mostly into cats (all kinds), robots (friendly), space (outer), guitar (loud), and overly-involved roleplaying games (wizards).