One of the most puzzling questions about online platforms for me has been whether what we observe on platforms such as Instagram or YouTube is more a result of the platform design, e.g., its algorithms, or a reflection of society through the lens of the platform. It is hard to answer which, but it is easy to forget about the role of human behavior when it comes to technology’s disturbing consequences. General features of my work on the study of digital technologies include carefully considering the whole spectrum from pure user intention to pure platform design, performing cross-platform analysis, and putting observations into context when studying complex systems.
References
2024
Causally estimating the effect of YouTube’s recommender system using counterfactual bots
Homa Hosseinmardi, Amir Ghasemian, Miguel Rivera-Lanas, Manoel Horta Ribeiro, Robert West, and Duncan J Watts
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2024
@article{hosseinmardi2023causally,title={Causally estimating the effect of YouTube’s recommender system using counterfactual bots},author={Hosseinmardi, Homa and Ghasemian, Amir and Rivera-Lanas, Miguel and Horta Ribeiro, Manoel and West, Robert and Watts, Duncan J},journal={Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences},volume={121},number={8},pages={e2313377121},year={2024},publisher={National Acad Sciences},}
2023
Deplatforming did not decrease Parler users’ activity on fringe social media
Manoel Horta Ribeiro, Homa Hosseinmardi, Robert West, and Duncan J Watts
@article{horta2023deplatforming,title={Deplatforming did not decrease Parler users’ activity on fringe social media},author={Horta Ribeiro, Manoel and Hosseinmardi, Homa and West, Robert and Watts, Duncan J},journal={PNAS nexus},volume={2},number={3},pages={pgad035},year={2023},publisher={Oxford University Press US},}
2021
Examining the consumption of radical content on YouTube
Homa Hosseinmardi, Amir Ghasemian, Aaron Clauset, Markus Mobius, David M Rothschild, and Duncan J Watts
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2021
@article{hosseinmardi2021examining,title={Examining the consumption of radical content on YouTube},author={Hosseinmardi, Homa and Ghasemian, Amir and Clauset, Aaron and Mobius, Markus and Rothschild, David M and Watts, Duncan J},journal={Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences},volume={118},number={32},pages={e2101967118},year={2021},publisher={National Acad Sciences},}
Causally estimating the effect of YouTube’s recommender system using counterfactual botsProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2024
Examining the consumption of radical content on YouTubeProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2021