Stephen Yang | Researching Technology Futures

I'm Stephen Yang, a writer, researcher, and educator. My research traces the histories and politics of media, technology, and built environments.
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Presently, I'm pursuing my PhD at the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Southern California, where I'm supported by the National Science Foundation's Graduate Research Fellowship (NSF GRFP).

I bring critical research to technology design and policy. I have held research appointments at Microsoft Research (Social Media Collective), Center for Democracy & Technology (AI Governance Lab), and Partnership on AI.

I'm always open to new connections and opportunities. You can find me on Bluesky or reach out to me at stepheny [at] usc [dot] edu.

I study the politics of media, technology, and built environments. My research traces the techniques and arrangements that organize the milieus we inhabit, with an emphasis on how they rework the terms of what is noticed and acted on—and what is assumed as background conditions. In my work, I draw on theories and approaches across materialist media studies, science & technology studies, infrastructure studies, and critical geography.
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My recent projects focus on historical and contemporary cases where sensing and predictive technologies are put to use. My dissertation brings these dynamics into view as I examine the day-to-day maintenance of thermal and luminous comfort in office interiors. By excavating the assemblages of environmental sensors, predictive analytics, and facility management (FM) protocols, I show how the governance of energy, labor, and environment are fastened together in the mundane operations to keep offices well-tempered and properly lit.

Download my CV

2025

January 2025 — I'm honored to be selected as a finalist for the Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowship for New Americans! 77 finalists were selected from 2,617 applicants.
January 2025 — I presented my work, "Speculative Failure as Hopeful Contestation of AI Futures," as part of the Participatory AI - Research & Practice Symposium, an event organized by Connected by Data, Data & Society, and others ahead of the Paris AI Action Summit. Check out the recording here!
April 2025 - I'm presenting my work, "Uncertainty as Spectacle: Real-Time Algorithmic Techniques on the Live Music Stage," the 20th Cinema and Media Studies Graduate Student Conference at the University of Chicago, April 25–26, 2025. The theme this year is "Failing Media."
June 2025 - I presented my work on TikTok trends and AI futures at the annual conference of the International Association of Communication!
September 2025 - I'll be presenting my work on the paradoxes between longtermism and accelerationism at the annual meeting of the Society for Social Studies of Science (4S)! See you in Seattle :)
October 2025 - I'll be presenting my work on speculative failure in the age of AI at the annual conference of the Association of Internet Researchers (AoIR). see you in Rio!

2024

October 2024 — I presented my work, "Infrastructuring Trends: Templates, Samples, and the Making of the Short Video Format on TikTok," at the annual conference of the Association of Internet Researchers (AoIR) in Sheffield!
Summer' 24 — I interned at the Center for Democracy & Technology, where I worked on AI policy research as part of the AI Governance Lab. Here's a research report I produced

April 2024 — I received funding from the Center on Science, Technology, and Public Life at USC to study the future imaginaries of Hollywood with the advent of AI.
Jan 2024 — As part of Data & Society's series on participatory methods series on AI design and accountability, I presented the EAAMO'23 paper on participatory approaches to AI design that I co-authored with Fernando Delgado, Michael Madaio, and Qian Yang!