PeopleofSuperintelligence

Researcher

Karrie Karahalios

Also known as Kyratso G. Karahalios

Karrie Karahalios is an MIT professor who studies how people can inspect, question and influence algorithmic systems. She earned four degrees at MIT before joining Illinois in 2004, then coauthored a 2014 paper on methods for detecting discrimination on internet platforms. Her research included FeedVis, which exposed Facebook’s selection of posts, and a 2020 study of racial and gender bias in online housing markets. She was a plaintiff in an ACLU case over the legal barriers to audit research and coauthored Auditing AI, released in April 2026. After returning to the MIT Media Lab in September 2025, she now directs its Social Algorithms group.

Works
288
Citations
9,648
h-index
44
Badges

Publication numbers from OpenAlex, as of 27 October 2026.

Timeline

  1. 1994–2004

    MIT degrees and Illinois

    At MIT, she earns a bachelor's degree in 1994 and an ME in electrical engineering and computer science in 1995. She completes an MS in Media Arts and Sciences in 1997 and a PhD in Media Arts and Sciences under Judith Donath in 2004. In 2004, she joins the Department of Computer Science at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign as an assistant professor.

  2. 2009–2010

    Berkman and Sloan fellowships

    She becomes a fellow at Harvard’s Berkman Center for Internet & Society for 2009–2010, with plans to study interactions in online community forums and develop visualizations. In 2010, she receives an Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowship for her work in computer science.

  3. 2011–2017

    A center at Illinois

    In 2011, she becomes a founder and co-director of the Center for People and Infrastructures in Illinois’s Coordinated Science Laboratory. She becomes a professor in the Department of Computer Science in 2017.

  4. 2014

    Methods for algorithm audits

    With Christian Sandvig, Kevin Hamilton and Cedric Langbort, she coauthors “Auditing Algorithms: Research Methods for Detecting Discrimination on Internet Platforms” in 2014. The work develops an audit framework for testing online algorithms for discrimination without the platform provider’s cooperation.

  5. 2015

    FeedVis reveals Facebook filtering

    In 2015, she coauthors a study of 40 Facebook users that uses FeedVis to compare their filtered News Feeds with feeds before algorithmic selection. The study finds that 62.5% of participants initially have no awareness that the News Feed uses a curation algorithm.

  6. 2016–2020

    A lawsuit for audit research

    In 2016, Karahalios becomes a plaintiff in an ACLU lawsuit challenging restrictions under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act that impede online discrimination research. She and Christian Sandvig plan to test whether real estate websites discriminate by race or other factors. In 2020, the district court rules that the research at issue can proceed without federal prosecution under the act for violating website terms of service.

  7. 2020

    Auditing online housing markets

    She coauthors “Auditing Race and Gender Discrimination in Online Housing Markets” in 2020. Using controlled online profiles, the team finds differences in the number and type of housing ads by a user’s race, and bias in property recommendations by gender.

  8. 2021

    Contestable content moderation

    In 2021, she coauthors “Contestability for Content Moderation” with Kristen Vaccaro, Ziang Xiao and Kevin Hamilton. Through design workshops with people who have experienced problems with social media moderation, the team identifies proposals for greater representation, better communication and more compassionate decisions.

  9. April 2026

    The book Auditing AI

    She coauthors Auditing AI, released in April 2026. The book covers approaches to auditing algorithms and the lawsuit over the legal status of audit research.

  10. As of October 2026

    Social Algorithms at MIT

    She rejoins the MIT Media Lab as a full professor of Media Arts and Sciences in September 2025. As of October 2026, she directs the Social Algorithms group and studies systems that let people understand, question and shape algorithmic decisions.

Career

  1. Since 2025Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyFull Professor of Media Arts and Sciences, MIT Media Lab
  2. NowMassachusetts Institute of TechnologyDirector, Social Algorithms group
  3. From 2017University of Illinois Urbana-ChampaignProfessor, Department of Computer Science
  4. From 2011University of Illinois Urbana-ChampaignFounder and Co-Director, Center for People and Infrastructures, Coordinated Science Laboratory
  5. 2009–2010Harvard UniversityFellow, Berkman Center for Internet & Society
  6. From 2004University of Illinois Urbana-ChampaignAssistant Professor, Department of Computer Science

Education

  1. 2004Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyPhD in Media Arts and Sciences
  2. 1997Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyMS in Media Arts and Sciences
  3. 1995Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyME in electrical engineering and computer science
  4. 1994Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyBachelor’s degree

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

Checked career sources: siebelschool.illinois.edu.

Colleagues

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

Sources and credits

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

  1. Karrie Karahalios - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org. Checked 27 October 2026.
  2. Berkman Center Announces 2009-2010 Fellows | Berkman Klein Center cyber.harvard.edu. Checked 27 October 2026.
  3. Two University of Illinois faculty members earn 2010 Sloan Fellowships – News Bureau news.illinois.edu. Checked 27 October 2026.
  4. Karrie Karahalios | Siebel School of Computing and Data Science | Illinois siebelschool.illinois.edu. Checked 27 October 2026.
  5. Rationale | Auditing Algorithms From the Outside: auditingalgorithms.wordpress.com. Checked 27 October 2026.
  6. "I always assumed that I wasn't really that close to [her]": Reasoning about invisible algorithms in news feeds - Illinois Experts experts.illinois.edu. Checked 27 October 2026.
  7. ACLU Challenges Law Preventing Studies on ‘Big Data’ Discrimination | American Civil Liberties Union aclu.org. Checked 27 October 2026.
  8. Federal Court Rules ‘Big Data’ Discrimination Studies Do Not Violate Federal Anti-Hacking Law | American Civil Liberties Union aclu.org. Checked 27 October 2026.
  9. Auditing Race and Gender Discrimination in Online Housing Markets | Proceedings of the International AAAI Conference on Web and Social Media ojs.aaai.org. Checked 27 October 2026.
  10. Contestability for Content Moderation - Illinois Experts experts.illinois.edu. Checked 27 October 2026.
  11. Karrie Karahalios karriekarahalios.com. Checked 27 October 2026.
  12. Overview ‹ Karrie Karahalios — MIT Media Lab www-prod.media.mit.edu. Checked 27 October 2026.
  13. Bio karriekarahalios.com. Checked 27 October 2026.