Hi, I’m Becca. ︎ I’m a researcher-programmer-artist exploring critical approaches to the design of AI/ML technologies.

Currently, I’m the Head of Open Source Research & Investigations at Mozilla Foundation, where I lead a digital investigations lab studying how people interact with platform algorithms. In my work, I explore how users of tech platforms engage in forms of resistance and exercise control in the face of power asymmetries.

I’m a founding member of tendernet, an artist collective exploring critical and participatory design practices in AI. We’ve taught workshops and spoken at the Toronto Museum of Contemporary Art, the Walker Art Center, RISD, and MIT, among others.

In 2021, I was recognized as one of 100 Brilliant Women in AI Ethics. I served on steering committees for the Partnership on AI’s ABOUT ML project and Ford Foundation’s Public Interest Technology network.

Previously, I was a 2017-2018 Ford-Mozilla Open Web Fellow hosted at Human Rights Watch. Before that, I worked as a creative technologist in the tech industry. While completing my master’s degree from NYU-ITP, I explored how algorithmic categorization on social media operates as a form of ‘soft’ power.

In my own creative practice, I use code to machine knit textiles, generate computational texts, and create 3D photogrammetric models. You can read more about my creative work and research on my blog.

Contact me ︎︎︎ baricks (at) protonmail.com

Find me on the internet:

are.na
vimeo
github
linkedin
twitter

Becca Ricks