Teaching Spotlight: AI, Images, and Trust at UVA
On the latest podcast episode of AI Exchange @UVA, Mona Kasra, DTD Lab faculty co-lead, explains how the next step in bringing together visual culture, creative practice, and democratic life to examine how AI is reshaping the way we see, interpret, and trust images, is building visual AI literacy strong enough to protect trust without giving up on truth.
Study outlines profile of players from the outskirts of the city
In a recent interview, David Nemer, DTD Lab faculty co-lead explained how digital technologies, payment infrastructures, and platform logics have been reorganizing economic life on the margins, transforming social vulnerability into an opportunity for extraction through betting in the favelas.
Gang rape of children in São Paulo: ‘This content is sold in groups without intervention from the platforms’
In a recent interview, DTD Lab postdoc, Yasmin Curzi, points out that new technologies have led to an explosion of cases of violence against children and adolescents including the dispersion of filmed violences that generate permanent revictimization.
Six months before the first round of voting, the TSE has not yet provided details on how it will monitor the use of AI in the elections
Yasmin Curzi, DTD Lab postdoc, argues that the Court needs to clarify who will be responsible for compliance monitoring and how it will be done, whether through partnerships with civil society or by the big tech companies themselves.
Uncensored explores the virtual world, where crimes worthy of movie scripts take place
David Nemer, DTD Lab faculty co-lead, joined a panel to discuss how artificial intelligence has amplified criminal activity on the internet and the spread of fake news, especially in an election year when misinformation gains more impact.
UVA School of Data Science Names Chirag Agarwal as Baugh Family Fellow
The University of Virginia School of Data Science has named assistant professor Chirag Agarwal, DTD Lab faculty affiliate, as the 2026 Baugh Family Fellow, recognizing his contributions to advancing research at the intersection of data science, security, and artificial intelligence.
Students, Power, and Technology
In a new article, DTD Lab faculty co-lead Mona Sloane, alumna Ella Duus, and previous faculty co-lead Bertrall Ross, propose Student Technology Councils - elected student bodies with a formal role in technology innovation, governance, and policy - as a new model for addressing risks of declining technology procurement, innovation, and regulatory outcomes.
The Need for Transnational Perspectives on the Social, Legal and Environmental Impact of Artificial Intelligence
A new outcome report of the UN Internet Governance Forum Data and Artificial Intelligence Governance Coalition features a contribution co-authored by Jess Reia, DTD Lab faculty co-lead, highlighting perspectives of the Global South, diverse regional solutions, and impact on human rights, labor, and global power asymmetries.
When Influencers Delegate Replies: How Social AI Agents Shape User Engagement
A new paper co-authored by DTD Lab faculty co-lead, Steven Johnson, introduces the concept of "Social AI Agents" — LLM-powered proxies that respond on behalf of an individual, serving as a delegated extension of a real person's social identity.
How AI can lead to false arrests and wrongful convictions
AI algorithms such as facial recognition systems produce probabilities, not facts. In this recent article, DTD Lab postdoc Maria Lungu and faculty co-lead Steve Johnson examine how errors in AI tools can contribute to wrongful arrests.
