Erik Borra Email & Phone Number

I specialize in the intersecting fields of Artificial Intelligence, Platform Studies, and Journalism. I have a solid foundation in these areas, backed by an MSc in Artificial Intelligence and Information Retrieval, a PhD evaluating the use of platform data and introducing new digital research tools in the humanities and social sciences, and my role as a key contributor to the MA Journalism program. My current research is titled “Tools of Interpretation: Generative AI as a Mediator in Everyday Epistemologies.”For over a decade I served as the Technical Director at the Digital Methods Initiative (DMI), one of Europe's leading schools for internet studies, where I was also a founding member. I thus had the opportunity to (help) design and implement dozens of tools to gather, analyze and visualize web data, such as the Twitter Capture and Analysis Toolset (DMI-TCAT), Contropedia, Political Search Trends, and the Lippmannian Device. I currently work a lot with generative AI and Large Language Models, developing research tools such Prompt Compass.Collaboration and teamwork have always been key components of my academic journey. My involvement in multiple interdisciplinary projects and my contributions to numerous academic publications are evidence of my reliability and efficiency as a team player. As a researcher-programmer I've had the privilege of participating in diverse international and interdisciplinary research projects, which include the investigation of political search queries at Yahoo! Research Barcelona, examining internet censorship with citizenlab.org, and contributing to Bruno Latour's projects on Mapping Controversies in Science and Politics (MACOSPOL) and Electronic Maps to Assist Public Science (EMAPS). I've also been instrumental in fostering international collaborations for drafting and securing grant proposals, such as for Contropedia and CAT4SMR. In terms of organizational skills and experience, I have demonstrated expertise across several areas: serving as the program director of the MA Journalism and Media program for five years, serving as the technical director of the Digital Methods Initiative for over a decade, managing and mentoring department programmers, and overseeing various BA and MA courses. I have supervised numerous MA theses and was the chair of the Board of Studies of the Media Studies MAs for approximately five years. Expertise: Internet Research, Data Science, Machine Learning, Large Language Models, Information Retrieval, Journalism and New Media, Web Development and Programming, New Media Consultancy.