Our Mission and Values
The AI Literacy Lab, part of the Internet Democracy Initiative at Northeastern University, is a center for thinking, collaboration, and insight on communication in the age of AI.
Our leaders are media, computational social science, and computer science faculty, working alongside media practitioners. Our research relates to public understanding of new media and AI-driven technologies, and the factors that contribute to public knowledge.
We want to bring scholars, journalists, and technologists together to understand the implications of new technology, communicate the work of technology development, and promote the responsible use of AI.
Our mission is to foster a well-informed global society that is equipped to grapple with the promise and pitfalls of emerging technology — and to use AI in the service of democracy.
Our Team
Myojung Chung
Assistant Professor, Journalism and Media Innovation, Northeastern University
Myojung Chung is an assistant professor of journalism and media innovation in the College of Arts, Media and Design at Northeastern University and the 2024 – 2025 Rebooting Social Media Visiting Scholar at the Harvard Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society. As a former journalist and emerging media scholar, her research focuses on how individuals process and respond to misinformation in the age of AI and its broader social implications. Her recent project examines how algorithmic literacy empowers digital citizens to combat misinformation, with a focus on the digital divide and information justice. Myojung’s work has been supported by various grants, including funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Korea Foundation.
John Wihbey
Associate Professor, Media Innovation and Technology, Northeastern University
John P. Wihbey is an associate professor of media innovation and technology in the College of Arts, Media and Design at Northeastern University, a faculty researcher at the Ethics Institute, and a founder of Northeastern’s Internet Democracy Initiative. He directs the graduate programs in Media Innovation and Data Communication, Journalism, and Media Advocacy. John is the author of The Social Fact: News and Knowledge in a Networked World (MIT Press, 2019), and he has served as a research consultant for Twitter, Inc., John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.
Kai-Cheng Yang
Postdoctoral Researcher, Network Science Institute, Northeastern University
Kai-Cheng Yang is a postdoctoral researcher in the Lazer Lab at Northeastern University’s Network Science Institute. He obtained his Ph.D. in Informatics from the Luddy School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering at Indiana University Bloomington. His research focuses on creating safe, fair, and trustworthy online information platforms by identifying how malicious actors and flawed systems distort information flow and developing effective countermeasures. His work spans social bots, misinformation, and algorithmic biases. Currently, he is exploring how generative AI is being misused in these contexts and how to harness this technology to protect against these threats.
Garrett Morrow
Research Development Officer, Northeastern University
Garrett Morrow holds a PhD in political science, where his research is at the intersection of technology and democracy. He seeks to understand how emerging technologies affect democratic practices and institutional trust and how best public institutions can govern these disruptive technologies to further the public good. He has published research on content moderation, including labeling and generative AI chatbots, as well as other issues of First Amendment expression online.
Harry Yaojun Yan
Postdoctoral Researcher, Social Media Lab, Stanford University; Incoming Assistant Professor, Department of Communication & Journalism, Texas A&M University
Harry Yaojun Yan, with a dual-major Ph.D. in Media Sciences & Informatics, focuses on understanding the influence of emerging media technologies on public opinion formation. His research investigates how interactions with AI on social media shape user perceptions of social and political realities and how automated agents enable political manipulation in polarization and social movements.
Advisory Group:
Rupal Patel
Professor of Computer Science and Communication Sciences
Professor Rupal Patel is the founder and CEO of VocaliD, a synthetic voice company that was acquired by Veritone in 2022. Recognized as a Voice Industry Visionary, she is known for her commitment to ethical AI, inclusivity, and accessibility. Her work has been featured in TED, NPR, MIT Technology Review, the BBC, and more.
Joanna Weiss
Director of Media Training & Strategic Initiatives, External Affairs, Office of the President, Northeastern University
Joanna Weiss is an award-winning journalist who created magazines about technology and humanity for Northeastern University and the healthcare technology firm Athenahealth. A former columnist and reporter for the Boston Globe, she is a regular contributor to Politico Magazine and appears on national and international TV and radio as a commentator on society and culture. Her writing has appeared in The Atlantic, Slate, The Economist, and more.
Michael Workman
Creative Director, External Affairs, Office of the President, Northeastern University
Michael Workman is an award-winning visual journalist who was a designer and digital design director at the Boston Globe and the Baltimore Sun. He has led teams of designers on cutting-edge storytelling through photography, video, and data visualization and has lectured on visual storytelling at Northeastern University. His work has been recognized by the Online News Association and the Society for News Design.