PeopleofSuperintelligence

Researcher

Batya Friedman

Batya Friedman is an emeritus professor at the University of Washington whose work asks how technology design can account for human values. She developed Value Sensitive Design at Colby College and joined the University of Washington Information School in 1999. With Emily Bender, she proposed Data Statements for Natural Language Processing in 2018; with David Hendry, she published a book on Value Sensitive Design in 2019. Her honors include the ACM SIGCHI Social Impact Award, an ACM Fellowship, and the 2024 Future of Life Award. As of October 2026, she co-directs UW’s Value Sensitive Design Lab and has published a second edition of her book.

Works
201
Citations
13,858
h-index
50
Badges

Publication numbers from OpenAlex, as of 19 October 2026.

Timeline

  1. 1979–1988

    Degrees at Berkeley

    She earns a BA in computer science in 1979 and a PhD in science and mathematics education in 1988 at the University of California, Berkeley.

  2. By 1999

    Developing Value Sensitive Design

    At Colby College, she becomes the first faculty hire in computing, builds a humanistic undergraduate computer science major, and first develops Value Sensitive Design. She joins the University of Washington Information School in 1999.

  3. 2012–2018

    An award and Data Statements

    She receives ACM SIGCHI’s Social Impact Award and the UW University Faculty Lecturer award in 2012. With Emily Bender, she proposes Data Statements for Natural Language Processing in 2018, a practice that can address exclusion and bias in language technology and improve claims about how NLP research generalizes.

  4. 2019

    A book on value sensitive design

    With David Hendry, she publishes Value Sensitive Design: Shaping Technology with Moral Imagination in 2019, a book that explains how design can account for human values and the long-term effects of technology. She enters the CHI Academy in 2019.

  5. 2021

    An ACM Fellowship

    She becomes an ACM Fellow in 2021.

  6. 2024

    A Future of Life Award

    She shares the 2024 Future of Life Award with James H. Moor and Steve Omohundro for work on the foundations of computer ethics and AI safety.

  7. 2026

    A second edition

    With David G. Hendry, she publishes the second edition of Value Sensitive Design: Shaping Technology with Moral Imagination in 2026. It contains 40 percent new material.

  8. As of October 2026

    Co-directing the VSD Lab

    She is an emeritus professor in the University of Washington’s Information School and co-directs the Value Sensitive Design Lab.

Career

  1. Since 1999University of WashingtonEmeritus Professor
  2. 1993–1999Colby CollegeFirst faculty hire in computing

Education

  1. 1988University of California, BerkeleyPhD in science and mathematics education
  2. 1979University of California, BerkeleyBA in computer science

From the biography and OpenAlex affiliations (the years of papers that list the organization), so some years are approximate.

Most-cited works

  1. Bias in computer systems1996 · ACM Transactions on Information Systems · 1,202 citations
  2. Value-sensitive design1996 · interactions · 958 citations
  3. Data Statements for Natural Language Processing: Toward Mitigating System Bias and Enabling Better Science2018 · Transactions of the Association for Computational Linguistics · 836 citationsWith Emily M. Bender
  4. Trust online2000 · Communications of the ACM · 720 citations
  5. Value Sensitive Design and Information Systems2013 · Philosophy of engineering and technology · 675 citations

From OpenAlex, as of 19 October 2026.

  1. Stanford University trained or employed 26 of the 108 AI major-prize winners, more than any other universityIncludes University of Washington. Stanford University trained or employed 26 of the 108 AI major-prize winners, more than any other university. We compare doctorate and employment links for major-prize and best-paper winners.
  2. Google has the highest combined h-index among AI organizationsIncludes University of Washington. Our estimates of combined and median h-index at AI organizations, using current affiliations and OpenAlex records.
  3. The company share of AI researchers’ top papers rose from 2% to 32%Includes University of Washington. We estimate where leading AI researchers worked when their most-cited papers appeared. The company share rose from 2% in 1975–1979 to 32% in 2020–2024.
  4. More people shaping AI studied at Massachusetts Institute of Technology than at any other institutionIncludes University of Washington. Our estimates of where the people shaping AI studied and where their careers led, from education records in cited biographies.

Colleagues

People with dated positions at the same organization in the same years.

Sources and credits

Photo: We have no published photo of Batya Friedman yet. Send us a free-licensed photo.

  1. iSchool Directory | Information School | University of Washington ischool.uw.edu. Checked 18 October 2026.
  2. iSchool’s Batya Friedman asks the hard questions | Information School | University of Washington ischool.uw.edu. Checked 18 October 2026.
  3. Data Statements for Natural Language Processing: Toward Mitigating System Bias and Enabling Better Science - ACL Anthology aclanthology.org. Checked 18 October 2026.
  4. Archive: Critical Tech Talk – Critical Media Lab criticalmedia.uwaterloo.ca. Checked 18 October 2026.
  5. Future Of Life Award 2024 - Future of Life Institute futureoflife.org. Checked 18 October 2026.
  6. Value Sensitive Design Lab - VSD Lab vsdesign.org. Checked 18 October 2026.
  7. The Lab - VSD Lab vsdesign.org. Checked 18 October 2026.