About the lab
We collaborate on producing rigorous independent scientific evidence on how real-world technologies function.
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About the lab
We are a research group led by Luc Rocher, based at the Oxford Internet Institute within the University of Oxford. We conduct human-centred computing research to understand how data, digital infrastructure, and algorithms impact society. We are interested in making digital power visible to the public and guiding the development of accountable, sustainable, and safe algorithms that better serve the public interest.
A ‘synthetic society’ refers to the increasingly algorithm-mediated world we inhabit, where AI systems and digital technologies shape our social interactions, economic systems, and political processes. As a group, we collaborate on producing rigorous independent scientific evidence on how real-world technologies function. Our members come from diverse backgrounds and complementary disciplines, including mathematics, public policy, political science, complex systems, and human-computer interaction.
Current members
Luc Rocher
Luc leads the Synthetic Society Lab and is an Associate Professor at the Oxford Internet Institute.
Alex Edmonds
Alex works to build algorithms with meaningful privacy guarantees.
Andrew Bean
Andrew studies how to better build and evaluate AI agents using user-centric experimental methods.
Lujain Ibrahim
Lujain investigates language model behaviours to understand and improve their cognitive, social, and relational effects.
Juliette Zaccour
Juliette studies how AI reshapes access to data, and how to protect the integrity of public interest research.
Sofia Hafner
Sofia investigates how choices made by LLM developers impact users in the real world.
Jorrit van Assen
Jorrit studies privacy-enhancing technologies and digital autonomy.
Yilun Xu
Yilun studies collective intelligence in Human-AI systems, with a network science lens.
Teo Canmetin
Teo studies how algorithms impact society, to solve privacy and AI governance challenges.
Francisco W. Kerche
Francisco studies the impact of technology on the Global South.
Charlotte Peart
Charlotte cares about large language model evaluations and interaction harms.
Yui Kondo
Yui is a Research Associate with the lab, where she designs interactive tools that make algorithmic identities visible and contestable.
Louis Barclay
Louis is a technologist, researcher and campaigner with a focus on making tech issues more accessible to the public.
Past members
Culture
We want to foster a positive, inclusive, and supportive culture within our group. We have a set of core values that we try to embody in our work and interactions with each other:
Community
We foster an active and inclusive community. We treat each other with respect, kindness, and care, actively listen to each other's thoughts, and prioritise wellbeing.
Social Impact
We strive for our research to have a positive social impact and advance social justice beyond academic circles.
Critical
Our research is scientifically rigorous, constructive, creative, driven by curiosity, and questions common assumptions and norms.
The commons
We work for the public interest, independent from the tech companies we study.
Life in the lab
A few moments with the lab and our friends, in Oxford and during our latest retreat in Torino, Italy.