top of page

Ben Z. Zhang, Ph.D.

I am an Assistant Professor in the Department of Technology, AI, and Society at Stony Brook University's (SUNY) College of Engineering and Applied Sciences (CEAS). I study the production and sociotechnical impacts of AI-enabled systems across critical contexts (e.g., work, health, and sustainability) to advance theory and inform more equitable, human-centered design and policy interventions. To achieve this, I employ a life-cycle-centered, multi-method approach to analyze the promises, inequalities, and invisible labor embedded in AI infrastructures, from development and deployment to governance.

​

Drawing on training in sociocultural ethnography and applied data science, my work examines how responsible approaches can be integrated throughout the lifecycle of AI-enabled systems. Specifically, I have been focusing on: (1) AI production and data infrastructures; (2) work, education, and sustainability in the context of global development; and (3) sociotechnical strategies to reduce harm and promote responsible computing.

 

My research has been published at top computing venues, including ACM CHI, ACM CSCW, ACM Web Conference (WWW), ACM GROUP, AAAI ICWSM, and the Journal of Collaborative Computing and Work Practices (JCSCW), as well as interdisciplinary venues such as SMSociety, 4S, and AoIR. â€‹I received my Ph.D. from the University of Michigan's School of Information, where I was a Rackham Predoctoral Fellow. Please feel free to contact me via ben(dot)z(dot)zhang(at)stonybrook(dot)edu. 

Research areas:

  • Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) and Social Computing

  • Science, Technology, and Society (STS)

  • Human-Centered AI and Responsible AI

  • Work and Labor

  • Health and Well-being

  • Data Infrastructure and Governance

  • Design Research

Recent News:​​​

Paper accepted for TheWebConference 2026

"LLM Use for Mental Health: Crowdsourcing Users’ Sentiment-based Perspectives and Values from Social Discussions,'' a paper I co-authored with Lingyao Li, Xiaoshan Huang, Renkai Ma, Haolun Wu, Fan Yang, and Chen Chen, has been accepted by the ACM Web Conference (WWW 2026). January 13, 2026​

​​

CHI 2026 program committee

I am serving on the program committee for CHI 2026 as an associate chair in the Interaction Beyond the Individual subcommittee. September 8, 2025​

​

Start tenure-track position at Stony Brook University!

I am excited to start as a tenure-track Assistant Professor in the Department of Technology and Society at Stony Brook University's College of Engineering and Applied Sciences (CEAS)!  September 1, 2025

​​

GROUP 2027 program committee

 I am serving on the program committee for GROUP 2027 as an associate chair. August 19, 2025

​

Dissertation defense!

I successfully defended my dissertation, "Infrastructuring Data Values: An Ethnography of AI Production, Labor, and Data Marketplaces in the Chinese Datafied State," on August 4th, and have now completed my PhD! Many thanks to my committee members - Oliver Haimson, Michaelanne Thomas, Silvia Lindtner, David Ribes, and Cara Wallis - for all of their support and feedback throughout the years. August 4, 2025

​

Attending HCIC  2025

I’ve been selected to attend HCIC 2025 as a representative of the University of Michigan. I’m excited to engage in conversations about The Future of Being Human in a Generative AI World. March 30, 2025

​​

Paper accepted for CSCW Journal​ 

"Identity Alignment and the Sociotechnical Reconfigurations of Emotional Labor in Transnational Gig-education Platforms," a paper I co-authored with Dipto Das and Bryan Semaan, has been accepted by the Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW) Journal. March 25, 2025​​​​​

​

View archived news items here.​

Affiliation:​

© 2026 by Ben Z. Zhang

bottom of page