Helen Nissenbaum

Timeline

1. 1975–1983

   Degrees at Witwatersrand and Stanford

   She earns a BA in mathematics and philosophy at the University of the Witwatersrand in 1975, then an honors BA in philosophy in 1976. At Stanford, she earns an MA in social sciences in education in 1978 and a PhD in philosophy in 1983.

2. 1983–1991

   Research and leadership at Stanford

   She joins Stanford’s Center for the Study of Language & Information as a postdoctoral research affiliate in 1983 and serves as assistant director of the Symbolic Systems Program from 1985 to 1991.

3. 1991–2001

   Ethics roles at Princeton

   At Princeton, she is associate director of the University Center for Human Values’ Program in Ethics & Public Affairs from 1991 to 1998, then a research associate at the center from 1998 to 2001.

4. 2001–2017

   NYU and contextual integrity

   She joins NYU in 2001 as a professor of Media, Culture and Communication and Computer Science. In 2004, she publishes “Privacy as Contextual Integrity,” proposing context-specific norms for evaluating the flow of personal information.

5. 2014

   A Barwise Prize

   She receives the American Philosophical Association’s Barwise Prize in 2014.

6. Since 2016

   Professor at Cornell Tech

   She joins Cornell Tech as an information science professor in 2016 and directs the Digital Life Initiative, which launches there in 2017 to explore ethics, policy, politics, and quality of life in digital technology.

7. 2025

   AI and privacy theory

   In 2025, she coauthors “Countering Privacy Nihilism” with Severin Engelmann. The paper argues that AI may infer “everything from everything,” challenging privacy theory and regulation.

8. As of October 2026

   Co-leading Cornell’s AIPP

   As of October 2026, she is the Andrew H. and Ann R. Tisch Professor of information science at Cornell Tech and director of the Digital Life Initiative. She co-leads Cornell’s Artificial Intelligence, Policy, and Practice initiative with Solon Barocas, Jon Kleinberg, and Karen Levy.