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 24,000 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, and 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.

Inteview with Fareed Zakaria. Watch other interviews
Hollywood reporting on our 2015 PNAS paper.
My JPSP paper exposing the privacy risks of facial recognition was featured on the cover of The Economist.

Awards

Early Career Award (2025)Association for Research in Personality.
Fellow (2024)Society of Personality and Social Psychology.
William Stern’s Honorary Award (2024)University of Wroclaw, (Previous recipients are Philip Zimbardo, Paul Costa, & RobertSternberg)
The Outstanding Graduate (2024) Warsaw School of Social Sciences.
Early Achievement Award (2023)European Association of Personality Psychology.
25 Outstanding Alumni for the 25th Jubilee (2021) Warsaw School of Social Sciences.
Rising Star (2015)Association of Psychological Science.

Op-Eds

Highlights

2023

An article reporting on my research is on the covers of NYT ,,,

2021

My interview with Polityka's Jacek Zakowski (PL).

2020

My interview with Stern (DE). 

2019

Evidence from my paper led FTC to fine Facebook $5 billion, the largest-ever fine for privacy violation
My PhD thesis was displayed at the Cambridge Library alongside Newton’s Principia and Darwin’s Origin of Species. Surreal!
I appeared in iHuman: Schei's thought-provoking documentary. 

2018

Evidence from my paper led UK's ICO to fine Facebook £500,000, the highest possible fine
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 C-SPAN interview on Big Data and the future of politics at CHM.

2016

A Das Magazin article (English) on my research was 2016's most widely discussed German press article.
I testified before the U.S. EEOC on the implications of big data.

2015

2014

I was one of the characters depicted in Privacy, James Graham's 2014 theater play.

2013 and earlier

Two TED talks focused on our 2013 PNAS paper: by David Stillwell and by Jenn Golbeck.
We were awarded a 1.6 million EU FP7 to work on an online collaborative environment.