Dr. J. Nathan Matias

I study digital governance and behavior change in groups and networks shaped by AI systems. I collaborate with the public in citizen behavioral science, working for a world where digital power is guided by evidence and accountable to the public.

I am a Guatemalan-American assistant professor at the Cornell University Departments of Communication and Information Science, where I lead the Citizens & Technology Lab (full bio here). My research contributes to scholarship in social pscychology and computer science.

I am also a co-founder and executive committee member of the Coalition for Independent Technology Research.


Citizens and Technology Lab Upworthy Archive Faculty Parity Project Coalition for Independent Technology Research

Recent News

Recent Scientific Research

Here are some of my most recent scientific publications, organized by topic (full publication list here).

Human-AI Behavior

Research Methods and Ethics

Diversity/Equity/Inclusion in Science

Recent Public Writing

Guide for Journalists & Event Organizers

As someone who regularly gives keynotes, appears on panels, and commits acts of journalism, I do what I can to support high quality conversation on tech and society: as a speaker, as a source, and by helping you find experts. I also collaborate with journalists on data journalism projects related to tech companies, their policies, and online behavior. To invite me to give a talk, see my page about talks and speaking.

Journalists: Reach out if I can help; over the last few years I have supported journalists on background, with suggested sources, statistics feedback, and served as a named source for journalists from the New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, ProPublica, The Markup, NPR All Things Considered, WIRED, The Atlantic, The Guardian, Boston Globe, Canadian Broadcasting Company, FastCompany, Fortune, Chronicle of Higher Education, Nieman Journalism Review, and the Columbia Journalism Review, to name a few.

To protect the integrity of my public voice, I maintain independence from the technology industry.

For questions related to the Citizens and Technology Lab and my academic work at Cornell, please write me at nathan.matias@cornell.edu.