Pioneering transdisciplinary research to explore democracy in the digital age

• Data in the Dark

Nighttime in the city

The interdisciplinary field called night studies considers how urban governance is applied to the 24-hour cycle. Jess Reia, DTD Lab faculty co-lead, is investigating discrepancies in the use of data for daytime economies and urban functioning, versus lack of study or thorough data for the nighttime economy.

global.virginia.edu

Imagining “Us” and “Them”: Emotional Logics of Sovereignty and National Belonging among Chinese Youth

A paper co-authored by DTD Lab postdoc, Wendy Zhou, examines how Chinese youth envision China’s future and how these visions inform their attitudes toward Hong Kong and Taiwan. By foregrounding the interplay between imagined futures of “us” and emotional evaluations of “them,” the study shows how debates over territorial sovereignty are filtered through everyday emotions and sense of national belonging.

journals.sagepub.com

The AI Factory: Data Centers, Power, and Resistance in Late Industrial Pennsylvania

A report co-authored by DTD Lab postdoc, Cella Sum, shows that data centers are a lightning rod issue for broad, diverse communities that desire both prosperity and power. Meanwhile, for powerful corporations, data centers represent an Achilles heel. A detailed exploration of how technology is impacting people's lives, this report reveals the limits of AI’s supposed inevitability within Pennsylvania’s borders and beyond them.

datasociety.net