I am an Associate Professor of Organizational Behavior at Stanford University's Graduate School of Business. My research interests encompass both human and artificial cognition. My current work centers on examining the psychological processes in Large Language Models and leveraging Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Big Data, and computational techniques to model and predict human behavior.

I co-authored Handbook of Social Psychology and Modern Psychometrics, two popular textbooks, and have published over 100 peer-reviewed papers in prominent journals such as Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Nature Computational Science, Psychological Science, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Machine Learning, and Scientific Reports which have been cited over 22,000 times. I am among the Top 1% of the Highly Cited Researchers according to Clarivate. My research has inspired a cover of The Economist, a 2014 theatre production titled “Privacy,” several TED talks, a video game. It has been featured in thousands of press articles, books, podcasts, and documentaries. I received a Rising Star award from the Association of Psychological Science (2015) and an Early Achievement Award from the European Association of Personality Psychology (2023).

I was behind the first press article warning against Cambridge Analytica. My research exposed the privacy risks they exploited and assessed the effectiveness of their methods. You can learn more about my role in uncovering their actions in Steven Levy's insightful book "Facebook: The Inside Story" and Sander van der Linden's article, "Weapons of Mass Persuasion." 

I earned a Ph.D. in psychology from the University of Cambridge and two master's degrees in psychometrics and social psychology. Before my current appointment, I held positions as a post-doctoral scholar in Stanford's Computer Science Department, Deputy Director of the University of Cambridge Psychometrics Centre, and a researcher in Microsoft Research's Machine Learning Group. 

I donate at least 10% of my income to effective charities. Perhaps I could inspire you to do the same!

If you want to know more about my views on issues ranging from personality to AI, listen to this podcast.

Hollywood reporting on our 2015 PNAS paper.
Inteview with Fareed Zakaria. Watch other interviews

Highlights

2023

Our research made it to Hollywood again!  
I received an Early Achievement Award from the European Association of Personality Psychology.
Article reporting on my research on GPT got on the cover of the NYT.

2021

My End of Privacy talk on TEDx.
Among the 25 Outstanding Alumni for the 25th Jubilee of my alma mater, the Warsaw School of Social Sciences.
My interview with Polityka's Jacek Zakowski (PL).

2020

My first book, Modern Psychometrics is out!
My interview with Stern (DE). 

2019

I appeared in iHuman: Schei's thought-provoking documentary. 

2018

Our JPSP paper warning that widely used facial recognition technology can be used to expose sensitive traits was featured on the cover of The Economist.
I appeared in the film Do You Trust This Computer?, along with Elon Musk and Ray Kurzweil. Over 1.4 million watched the preview, and the film won the Audience Award at CinemaAmbiente.

2017

A conversation with David C. Brock on the future of politics and big data at the Computer History Museum.
I discussed the role of big data in the 2016 U.S. presidential election with Fareed Zakaria.

2016

A Das Magazin article (English version at Vice.com) about my privacy research was the most widely discussed German press article of 2016.
I testified before the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on the implications of big data for equal employment opportunity.

2015

I received a Rising Star award from the Association of Psychological Science.
I was behind the first press report on Cambridge Analitica in the Guardian.

2014

I was listed among the 50 most influential people in big data in 2014 according to DataIQ. 
I was one of the characters depicted in Privacy, a 2014 theater play written by James Graham and produced by Donmar Warehouse.

2013 and earlier

Two TED talks focused on our 2013 PNAS paper: by David Stillwell and by Jenn Golbeck.
Our team was awarded a prestigious European Union grant, under the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7), to work on an online collaborative environment.