Rama Adithya Varanasi
Research Area
Human Computer Interaction, Labor/Work, Social Computing
Faculty Fellow
Department of Technology Management and Innovation (TMI)
Tandon School of Engineering
New York University
I am a postdoctoral researcher in the Tandon School of Engineering at New York University, collaborating with Oded Nov and Batia Wiesenfeld. ​I earned my Ph.D. from Cornell University, advised by Nicola Dell and Aditya Vashistha.
I am a Human–Computer Interaction (HCI) researcher passionate about improving people’ work lives shaped by General Purpose Technologies like AI, in the United States and globally. My research centers on studying, designing, and developing these technologies to reduce worker vulnerabilities and enhance professional agency, with the goal of improving workplace outcomes and experiences. The interdisciplinary work draws on theories and methods from Computer Science, Organizational Studies, and Design.
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My work has been published in the top venues such as ACM CHI, CSCW, ICTD, and COMPASS, and has powered large-scale grassroots interventions. It has been supported by grants from Engaged, the Einaudi Center, Bloomberg, and Mozilla.
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I have also held industry research positions at Google and Microsoft, driving responsible AI product innovation.
Current Research Themes
(1) Studying creative and knowledge workers' resistance to Gen AI and the resulting paradigm shifts in workflows.
(2) Building productive post-retirement work pathways for older adults in the age of AI.
(3) Reducing exploitative labor practices in the development of large-language models' development and deployment.
This publication sheds light on a burgeoning practice of AI rivalry among professional writers against generative AI tools, previously observed only between individuals. This paper explores how this new form of resistance is rooted in constructive motives, where professionals aren't merely pushing back against automation but are actively reshaping their roles, reasserting their value, and crafting their careers.
Updates
May'22: Gave an Invited talk at Future of Work forum at Stern, NYU.
May'10: Presenting my paper at CHI in Japan.
Mar'25: New paper at CHI'25. Read it here.
Nov'24: Co-organized an extremely fulfilling workshop at CSCW'24. Read the abstract here.
Aug'24: Teaching a graduate course on Data visualization for Business Intelligence.
May'24: Presented the final piece of my dissertation at CHI'24. Read it here.
Apr'24: Gave a guest lecture around Gig Work in the department of Technology, Culture and Society, NYU.
Feb'24: Contributed to an NSF planning grant submission. My first.
Dec'23: Registration chair for ACM GROUP'25.
Nov'23: Finished my PhD! You can read my dissertation here.
Jul'23: New paper at COMPASS'23 around post-pandemic teacher support. My first as a mentor!
Apr'23: New postdoc position at NYU Tandon School from Jan. New chapter!
Feb'23: Gave invited talk at the department of Informatics, New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT)