PeopleofSuperintelligence

Researcher

Finn Brunton

Finn Brunton is a scholar of computing and artificial intelligence whose books examine the histories and social effects of technical systems. In 2013, he published Spam, and in 2015 he coauthored Obfuscation with Helen Nissenbaum. He published Digital Cash and coauthored Communication in 2019, and he joined an NYU discussion about AI and social hierarchies. As of October 2026, he is a professor at UC Davis, where he teaches Science and Technology Studies and Cinema and Digital Media.

Timeline

  1. 2013

    Spam and online communities

    In 2013, he publishes Spam: A Shadow History of the Internet, which examines how technologies and online communities adapt to spam.

  2. By 2014

    Degrees in modern thought

    By 2014, he holds an MA from the European Graduate School in Saas-Fee and a PhD from the University of Aberdeen’s Centre for Modern Thought.

  3. By 2014

    Assistant professor at Michigan

    By 2014, he joins NYU after an assistant professorship at the University of Michigan’s School of Information.

  4. 2015

    Coauthoring Obfuscation

    In 2015, he coauthors Obfuscation: A User’s Guide for Privacy and Protest with Helen Nissenbaum.

  5. 2019

    Digital Cash and cryptocurrency

    In 2019, he publishes Digital Cash, a history of the anarchists, technologists, and utopians who created cryptocurrency.

  6. 2019

    Communication and Co-Opting AI

    In 2019, he coauthors Communication with Mercedes Bunz and Paula Bialski, a book about interaction with machines. On April 1, 2019, he joins NYU’s Co-Opting AI discussion about what algorithmic machines can do and how they connect with social histories and hierarchies. A spring 2019 NYU Cinema Studies event identifies him as an assistant professor in the Department of Media, Culture, and Communication.

  7. 2026

    History of artificial intelligence

    In 2026, his professional interests include the history of artificial intelligence.

  8. As of October 2026

    Professor at UC Davis

    As of October 2026, he is a professor at UC Davis, where he teaches in Science and Technology Studies and Cinema and Digital Media.

  1. Google had the most people shaping AI every year from 2014 to 2025Our estimates of which organizations employed the most people shaping AI from 1961 to 2025, with a year-by-year chart.
  2. The United States employs an estimated 53% of people in our data with a known employment countryOur estimates of where AI careers are concentrated now and how countries’ shares of dated positions changed over time.
  3. 46% of living people in our data with known birth and employment countries work outside their birth countryOur estimate of cross-border careers in AI, from country of birth and the country of each current organization.
  4. More people shaping AI studied at Massachusetts Institute of Technology than at any other institutionOur estimates of where the people shaping AI studied and where their careers led, from education records in cited biographies.

Sources and credits

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  1. Spam: A Shadow History of the Internet - Finn Brunton - Google Books books.google.com. Checked 19 October 2026.
  2. DWeb Camp 2019.dwebcamp.org. Checked 19 October 2026.
  3. Making Money cmu.edu. Checked 19 October 2026.
  4. Communication › meson press meson.press. Checked 19 October 2026.
  5. Co-Opting AI: Machines – Institute for Public Knowledge ipk.nyu.edu. Checked 19 October 2026.
  6. Cinema Studies Events - Spring 2019 tisch.nyu.edu. Checked 19 October 2026.
  7. Finn Brunton finnbrunton.net. Checked 19 October 2026.