Ben Zefeng Zhang

I am a sociotechnical researcher and Ph.D. candidate at the University of Michigan School of Information (UMSI), working with Dr. Oliver Haimson and Dr. Michaelanne Thomas. I study the sociotechnical impacts of AI-enabled systems in critical areas (e.g., work, migration, and education) to advance theory and inform more equitable and human-centered design and policy interventions.​ ​To achieve these insights, I employ a life-cycle-centered approach, leveraging ethnographic and qualitative research methods to examine the promise, inequality, and invisible labor inherent in AI infrastructures — from development and implementation to governance. 

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Drawing on my training in applied data science and sociocultural ethnography, my research focuses on three streams: (1) AI production and data infrastructures; (2) algorithmic mobility and identity transitions across social media; (3) labor, work and social justice in global computing. My empirical research has yielded several key conceptual contributions (e.g., precision labor in AI production, human-centered algorithmic mobility, and infrastructural migration) and design implications around algorithmic resistance and global platform governance.

My work has been published at top computing venues, including ACM CHI, ACM CSCW, ACM GROUP, AAAI ICWSM, and the Journal of Collaborative Computing and Work Practices (JCSCW), as well as interdisciplinary venues such as Social Media & Society, 4S, and AoIR. My work is supported by awards and fellowships, including the International Institute, the Lieberthal-Rogel Center for Chinese Studies, Rackham Graduate School at the University of Michigan, and the Weizenbaum Institute in Germany.  Additionally, my work and practice have been featured in global news outlets like Der Spiegel, China Daily, and States Newsroom.

Before graduate school, I worked for a few years as a journalist, feature writer, and photographer at an international news outlet. I enjoy cycling, swimming, running, hiking, and yoga. Please feel free to contact me via bzfzhang (at) umich (dot) edu.