Julián Posada, Assistant Professor of American Studies, Awarded Two-Year Just Tech Fellowship

Julián Posada, Assistant Professor of American Studies in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, was recently awarded the Just Tech Fellowship—a two-year program administered by the Social Science Research Council (SSRC) with funding from the MacArthur, Ford, and Surdna Foundations.   

The program supports fellows whose work “tackle[s] complex issues at the intersection of technology and society,” with a cohort including scholars like Posada alongside journalists, organizers, technologists, and artists. 

Posada’s interdisciplinary research stretches across information science, sociology, and human-computer interaction to explore the ethical implications of labor practices—such as outsourcing labor to freelance workers who don’t receive benefits—being used by major companies to improve artificial intelligence (AI).

In addition to his role as an Assistant Professor of American Studies in the FAS, Posada is also faculty affiliate in the Ethnicity, Race, and Migration program, and a member of the Yale Law School’s Information Society Project and the Yale Institute for Foundations of Data Science.   

Posada plans to use the time and funds granted by the Just Tech fellowship to write his book, currently under contract with the University of California Press, in addition to hosting online workshops for workers and labor organizations to discuss its findings. 

 Posada spoke to Michaela Herrmann of the FAS Dean’s Office about the fellowship, how it aligns with his academic interests, and the book, which applies a Latin American critical lens to his seven years of research.   

Can you start by giving us a broad overview of your project?   

Julián Posada: This is a project I’ve been researching for more than seven years. Even before my PhD, I was interested in platform labor. I realized that the use of platforms like Uber represents a step back in terms of working conditions for many workers around the world. Initially, I was thinking about platform labor more generally, but I soon realized there was a specific subset focused on providing data for the growing AI industry. It was back in 2017-18 when I came across this topic, and I thought, “Oh, this is going to be an interesting area to explore,” especially because, a few years later, around 2019, evidence surfaced that a large number of workers came from my home region of Latin America. 

Much of the research on this topic has focused on countries where English is either the primary language or a significant secondary language, often with direct colonial ties to the United Kingdom and the United States. There has been very little exploration of the Latin American context, despite it being a significant source of labor during the pandemic. This gap in the research is why I chose to focus on this topic. 

The book I’m writing explores how the AI industry relies on humans not only to develop models— a role typically filled by engineers and data scientists—but also on workers who annotate and create data for machine learning, and who verify the models’ outputs. These workers are often overlooked and invisible, yet their work is both essential for AI and exploited by digital platforms. I use the concept of extractivism, a term from Latin American critical thinking, as a framework to study and understand the work these individuals perform.   

Tell us about the Just Tech fellowship program. How does it align with your work, and what are its broader goals?   

Posada: The SSRC is one of the largest funders of research in the social sciences and humanities in the country. I first learned about the Just Tech Fellowship through a colleague who recommended it. 

The Just Tech program encompasses more than just the fellowship; it’s a vibrant community of researchers and practitioners who share ideas through workshops, events, and other activities. I became familiar with it after participating in a workshop last year, where I presented a chapter of my book. Through this experience, I met many great individuals who are not only interested in technology but are also focused on examining it from a social justice perspective—hence the name “Just Tech.” One of Just Tech’s key focus areas is labor. Discovering a granting institution that prioritizes labor issues was very appealing to me, which is why I decided to apply. Additionally, since I am on sabbatical this year, I wanted to make the most of it by securing a fellowship or grant. It felt like everything aligned perfectly for this opportunity.   

Your project includes workshops with workers and worker organizations. How do you picture these? And why was that important to you to include as part of your proposal for this fellowship?   

Posada: A key inspiration for my research is the value of bottom-up approaches. Increasingly, both academia and the tech sector are recognizing the importance of involving communities not merely as subjects of study, but as active participants who generate the questions to be explored. Researchers then support these communities in finding answers to those questions. 

An excellent and inspiring example comes from a project by one of my co-authors, the “Data Workers’ Inquiry.” In this project, academics facilitated a worker’s inquiry—a research initiative conducted by workers themselves. The academics simply acted as enablers, making the project possible. This approach exemplifies how research can also be conducted in collaboration with communities. 

This dual approach shapes the focus of my research. The book, which is primarily intended for a scholarly audience and the tech industry, is complemented by two other projects aimed at workers. One is a report, but the more significant project is a workshop designed to create a space for dialogue between workers and labor organizations. 

Is there anything else you really hope people take away from your work broadly, or from this project in particular?   

Posada: When discussing the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, I want to emphasize the momentum Yale is experiencing in technology studies. Recently, the Provost’s office issued the report of the Yale Taskforce on AI, highlighting “AI for humanity” as a key future investment at Yale. The university has a strong humanistic tradition, which is one of the aspects I most appreciate about teaching here. The interdisciplinary and liberal arts spirit at Yale is remarkable. My students come from diverse fields such as computer science, mathematics, astronomy, history, economics and many more, bringing together different perspectives. This interdisciplinarity is one of Yale’s significant strengths. 

In the next couple of years, a group of colleagues and I hope to introduce a critical computing certificate. Additionally, the Global Data Justice Initiative, funded by the MacMillan Center, is launching with a series of speakers scheduled for next year. There is a lot of momentum in Science and Technology Studies at Yale. For instance, we have a new AI policy group and feminist STS initiatives led by students. Although we don’t yet have a formal department or program dedicated to this area, there is substantial interest from the university community, including faculty, staff, and students. Moreover, the Faculty of Arts and Sciences has established a new Digital Ethics Center, and the Law School hosts the Information Society Project. All these developments signify that while Yale is already strong in these fields, it is continually growing stronger.