My dissertation began with a simple (or so I thought) question: If territorially bound states are socially constructed, then what about the global commons? How did certain realms become "non-sovereign" domains, and why? When is this status contested?

My dissertation project, Technology, Power, and Imagined Frontiers, sets out to answer this and, in the process, addresses urgent questions about the future of international cooperation and security. Will states learn to cooperate on global challenges, or will we divide into rival camps, risking conflict and war in the process? However we answer, the battlegrounds won’t just be on land. They will be in cyberspace and outer space. Digital and orbital systems form the nervous system of modern civilization, serving as vital networks for economic growth and security. 

But why did realms that began as peaceful, open mediums evolve into contested arenas rife with patriotic fervor and disputed land grabs? Based on extensive archival fieldwork and over 40 interviews with policymakers, scientists, corporate executives, and civil society groups, I argue that the shift from a global commons to sovereign territory is driven as much by collective imagination, what I call “technospeculation,” as by physical engineering. When states believe an emerging technology (even if unproven) offers universal benefits, a global commons is more likely to emerge. Conversely, when emerging technologies are framed as a zero-sum game, sovereign claims will emerge. I trace these beliefs about technology and their relationship with physical and technical infrastructure over a 70-year period, analyzing nine different technological systems. 

I've always been interested in the relationship between information, influence, and dissent. It’s what first drew me to study the politics of technology. 

I cut my teeth as a researcher at the Citizen Lab, where I co-authored a piece on Iranian information operations by tracking a network of accounts and websites peddling false and misleading information, which I coined Endless Mayfly. Since then, I’ve conducted extensive research on disinformation campaigns, their tactics, and their impact on political discourse and democratic processes. I have also published an 80-country study in the International Journal of Communication on how “fake news” is weaponized to justify censorship, titled "The Global Spread of Misinformation Laws". 

I’ve also explored the role of race and gender in facilitating attacks against activists in a co-authored report on transnational repression that included interviews with 85 women human rights defenders in 23 countries. "No Escape: The Weaponization of Gender for the Purposes of Digital Transnational Repression" is a groundbreaking piece, and I am very grateful to have been part of this project.

I am a mixed-methods scholar and believe we should start with interesting questions first and figure out methods afterward. Because of this, I've been fortunate to collaborate with incredible people from a wide range of methodologies, disciplines, and experiences.

I've written on the difficulties of attribution using open-source intelligence research methods, how scholars can better contextualize and employ interdisciplinary methods to study misinformation, and the relationship between mixed-methods and interdisciplinary research for studying online harms and digital rights.