PeopleofSuperintelligence

Researcher

Katharina Reinecke

Katharina Reinecke is a computer scientist whose human-computer interaction research examines how technology, including AI, reflects the culture of the people who build it. She earned a Ph.D. at the University of Zurich in 2010, and at Harvard she launched the online lab LabintheWild in 2012. After an assistant professorship at the University of Michigan's School of Information, she joined the University of Washington, where an NSF CAREER Award followed in 2017 for her work on culturally aware user interfaces. In 2025, she started the Center for Globally Beneficial AI and published the book Digital Culture Shock, and in 2026 she received a Nautilus Book Award. She is a professor and Associate Director for Research and Communication in the Allen School at the University of Washington, where she directs the Wildlab and the center.

Timeline

  1. 2010

    A doctorate in Zurich

    After presenting an e-learning application for agricultural advisors in Rwanda, she realizes that technology is never culturally neutral and sets out to earn a doctorate on the topic. She completes a Ph.D. in computer science at the University of Zurich in 2010, advised by Avi Bernstein.

  2. 2012

    Launching LabintheWild at Harvard

    As a postdoctoral researcher in Krzysztof Gajos's Intelligent Interactive Systems group at Harvard, she launches LabintheWild with Gajos in August 2012. The virtual lab runs voluntary online tests about how culture shapes the way people use technology, and it has been visited by more than 5 million volunteer participants.

  3. 2013–2015

    Assistant professor at Michigan

    In 2013, she is named an assistant professor at the University of Michigan's School of Information after her Harvard postdoc. In 2015, the University of Washington's computer science department announces that she will join its faculty; her LabInTheWild has by then gathered data from over 2.5 million visitors from over 200 countries.

  4. 2017

    An NSF CAREER Award

    In 2017, she wins an NSF CAREER Award for her proposal "Data-Driven User Interface Designs for Culturally Diverse Groups." She uses LabintheWild data from users in at least 30 countries to develop guidelines, predictive models and tools for the automated adaptation of web interfaces.

  5. 2025

    A center for globally beneficial AI

    The University of Washington's Center for Globally Beneficial AI starts in 2025 with her as director; it aims to imagine and define the next generation of AI technologies for cultures and communities around the world. She also coauthors NormAd, a benchmark for measuring the cultural adaptability of large language models, with Abhinav Rao, Akhila Yerukola, Vishwa Shah and Maarten Sap for NAACL 2025.

  6. 2025

    The book Digital Culture Shock

    In 2025, Princeton University Press publishes her book Digital Culture Shock: Who Creates Technology and Why This Matters, which argues that technology is never culturally neutral. In September 2025, she points out that generative AI tools trained on mostly English web data convey values aligned with a tiny portion of the world's population.

  7. 2026

    A Nautilus Book Award

    In 2026, she receives a Nautilus Book Award.

  8. As of October 2026

    Professor and center director

    She is a Professor and Associate Director for Research and Communication in the Allen School at the University of Washington, and the Paul G. Allen Career Development Professor in Computer Science & Engineering. She directs the Wildlab and the Center for Globally Beneficial AI, an interdisciplinary cross-campus initiative.

Career

  1. Since 2025University of WashingtonProfessor; Associate Director for Research and Communication; Paul G. Allen Career Development Professor
  2. 2013–2015University of MichiganAssistant Professor
  3. From 2012Harvard UniversityPostdoctoral Researcher
  4. From 2012LabintheWildFounder

Education

  1. 2010University of ZurichPhD

From the biography.

  1. The company share of AI researchers’ top papers was 31% in 2020–2024 and 8% in 1970–1974Includes University of Washington. We estimate where the people shaping AI worked when their most-cited papers appeared: the company share was 31% in 2020–2024 and 8% in 1970–1974, and Google led all organizations in 2020–2024.
  2. The median h-index is 48 at universities and 14 at frontier AI labsIncludes University of Washington. The median h-index is 48 at universities and 14 at frontier AI labs. We compare publishing careers, recent citations, dual appointments and job moves across 2,420 university researchers and 308 frontier-lab researchers.
  3. Of 943 people shaping AI who worked at Google, 446 work there nowIncludes University of Washington. Our estimates of where the 943 people shaping AI who worked at Google and Google DeepMind work now: 446 at Google and 452 across 278 other organizations.
  4. 20% of people at companies who shape AI also hold a university role, led by Google and Stanford UniversityIncludes University of Washington. We estimate that 539 of the 6,766 people with a known current organization (8%) hold both a university role and a company role, including 20% of people at companies and 13% of people at universities.

Colleagues

People named in this biography, and people with dated positions at the same organization in the same years.

Sources and credits

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

  1. Katharina Reinecke, Professor - Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering cs.washington.edu. Checked 21 October 2026.
  2. Katharina Reinecke joins UW CSE news.cs.washington.edu. Checked 21 October 2026.
  3. Q&A: UW professor's book explores how 'technology is never culturally neutral' washington.edu. Checked 21 October 2026.
  4. Lab in the Wild asks: What's your Internet like? seas.harvard.edu. Checked 21 October 2026.
  5. Wildlab@UW wildlab.cs.washington.edu. Checked 21 October 2026.
  6. Katharina Reinecke, former DDIS student, joins the University of Michigan School of Information as Assistant professor files.ifi.uzh.ch. Checked 21 October 2026.
  7. Six Allen School faculty members win NSF CAREER Awards news.cs.washington.edu. Checked 21 October 2026.
  8. Center for Globally Beneficial AI – Research at the UW research.washington.edu. Checked 21 October 2026.
  9. Digital Culture Shock: Who Creates Technology and Why This Matters | Library Journal libraryjournal.com. Checked 21 October 2026.
  10. Katharina Reinecke homes.cs.washington.edu. Checked 21 October 2026.