PeopleofSuperintelligence

Researcher

Mathieu Jacomy

Also known as jacomyma

Mathieu Jacomy is a computational social scientist who builds visualization tools for social research and studies how large language models handle knowledge. He worked on the e-Diasporas Atlas program from 2006 to 2010, became a research engineer at Sciences Po's médialab in 2010, and initiated the Gephi network analysis software. In 2009 he coauthored the Gephi demonstration paper with Mathieu Bastian and Sébastien Heymann, and in 2014 he published the ForceAtlas2 layout algorithm with Tommaso Venturini, Heymann and Bastian. After joining the Techno-Anthropological Laboratory in 2018, he published the thesis Situating Visual Network Analysis in 2021, and in 2024 he and Erik Borra published a study of LLM self-consistency. He is an assistant professor at Aalborg University and spent February 2026 at the Paris IAS on a project about visualization for AI-augmented sociology.

Timeline

  1. 2006–2010

    The e-Diasporas Atlas program

    He is strongly involved in the e-Diasporas Atlas program with Dana Diminescu from 2006 to 2010.

  2. 2009

    The Gephi demonstration paper

    In 2009, he coauthors the AAAI demonstration paper "Gephi: An Open Source Software for Exploring and Manipulating Networks" with Mathieu Bastian and Sebastien Heymann. Gephi, which he initiated, uses a 3D render engine to display large networks in real time.

  3. 2010–2018

    Research engineer at médialab

    He is a research engineer at Sciences Po's médialab in Paris from 2010 to 2018. He leads the web sub-project of the DIME-SHS team, develops digital tools for the social sciences, and works on the web crawler Hyphe.

  4. 2014

    The ForceAtlas2 layout algorithm

    With Tommaso Venturini, Sébastien Heymann and Mathieu Bastian, he publishes ForceAtlas2 in PLoS ONE in 2014. The paper lays out how Gephi's default layout algorithm works, built on techniques such as the Barnes Hut simulation, degree-dependent repulsive force and adaptive temperatures.

  5. 2018–2021

    A PhD on visual network analysis

    He joins the Techno-Anthropological Laboratory in 2018 to prepare a PhD thesis. Situating Visual Network Analysis is published in 2021 by Aalborg Universitetsforlag, with Anders Kristian Munk as principal supervisor and Anders Koed Madsen as co-supervisor.

  6. 2024

    Testing LLM self-consistency

    In 2024, he and Erik Borra publish "Measuring LLM Self-consistency: Unknown Unknowns in Knowing Machines" in the journal Sociologica. Their experiments vary prompts in knowledge retrieval tasks for social sciences and humanities research, and they find that self-consistency tends to align with correct responses and that errors persist.

  7. February 2026

    A fellowship at Paris IAS

    He spends February 2026 at the Paris IAS through its Distinguished Fellowship program with PostGenAI@Paris. His project, Visualization for AI Augmented Sociology, develops methods that use large language models and visualization to track how sociotechnical controversies evolve.

  8. As of October 2026

    Assistant professor at Aalborg

    He is a computational social scientist and assistant professor at Aalborg University, affiliated with the Department of Culture and Communication, the Techno-Anthropology Lab and MASSHINE. His research covers visual network analysis, AI-assisted visualization, digital controversy mapping and the anthropology of generative AI.

Career

  1. NowAalborg UniversityAssistant Professor
  2. 2026Paris Institute for Advanced StudyDistinguished Fellow
  3. 2010–2018Sciences PoResearch engineer

Education

  1. 2021Aalborg UniversityPhD

From the biography.

  1. The company share of AI researchers’ top papers was 31% in 2020–2024 and 8% in 1970–1974Includes Aalborg University. 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 Massachusetts Institute of Technology trained or employed 44 of the 187 AI major-prize winners, more than any other universityIncludes Aalborg University. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology trained or employed 44 of the 187 AI major-prize winners, more than any other university. We compare doctorate and 5+ year employment links, career timing and current workplaces for 187 major-prize and 1,111 best-paper winners.
  3. Google had the most people shaping AI every year from 2014 to 2025Our estimates of which organizations employed the most people shaping AI each year from 1955 to 2025, tracing the shift from university labs to companies.
  4. The United States employs an estimated 48% of people shaping AIWe estimate where the people shaping AI work today, how universities, companies and research institutes split across countries, and how country shares have changed since the 1960s.

Colleagues

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

Sources and credits

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

  1. Mathieu Jacomy | médialab Sciences Po medialab.sciences-po.fr. Checked 21 October 2026.
  2. Gephi: An Open Source Software for Exploring and Manipulating Networks | Proceedings of the International AAAI Conference on Web and Social Media ojs.aaai.org. Checked 21 October 2026.
  3. ForceAtlas2, a Continuous Graph Layout Algorithm for Handy Network Visualization Designed for the Gephi Software - PMC pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. Checked 21 October 2026.
  4. Situating Visual Network Analysis - Aalborg University's Research Portal vbn.aau.dk. Checked 21 October 2026.
  5. Measuring LLM Self-consistency: Unknown Unknowns in Knowing Machines - Aalborg University's Research Portal vbn.aau.dk. Checked 21 October 2026.
  6. Mathieu Jacomy - Institut d'études avancées de Paris paris-iea.fr. Checked 21 October 2026.
  7. SICSS 2026 Bogotá: People sicss.io. Checked 21 October 2026.