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Alexandra Samuel

Alexandra Samuel

Alexandra Samuel is a technology writer, researcher and speaker. She is the author of Work Smarter with Social Media (Harvard Business Review Press, 2015), and is a regular contributor to the Harvard Business Review and The Wall Street Journal. Alex holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from Harvard University and a B.A. from Oberlin College. You can find her on Twitter as @awsamuel and on her own site, alexandrasamuel.com.

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Unfolding AI

The New “Hybrid Work” is “AI + Humans”

The major transformation in the where of modern workplaces is about to collide with a transformation in who is doing that work.
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Unfolding AI

We Got Social Media Wrong. Can We Get AI Right?

How to be agents who use new AI tools, rather than subjects manipulated by them.
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The Digital Voyage

5 Questions to Ask before Joining a Social Network

Clubhouse reminds us of what early adopters forget: Leadership diversity is crucial to platform safety.
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The Digital Voyage

Dating Apps Are Intensifying Online Partisanship

Some social scientists argue that dating and mating patterns may be the real drivers of polarization.
An illustration depicting two regency-era women speaking with an iMessage bubble
The Digital Voyage

Is Jane Austen the Antidote to Social Media Overload?

Racking up likes and followers today resembles the nonstop friending of 19th-century England. But Austen's characters figured out how to disengage.
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The Digital Voyage

How to Use Zotero and Scrivener for Research-Driven Writing

This month, I’m doing something a little different with my column: I’m sharing the system I use to write it, so that you can use or adapt my system.
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The Digital Voyage

What Happened to Tagging?

Tags decentralized and democratized the organization of information. What became of "social tagging?"
A woman reading a newspaper
The Digital Voyage

To Predict the Role of Fake News in 2020, Look to Canada

Canada has taken steps to address the potential for online misinformation ("fake news") in its upcoming election, but the internet changes rapidly.
Two women speaking beside a water cooler in an office
The Digital Voyage

Streaming Television Might Just Bring Us Together After All

A look at TV watching as a social activity, from the "water cooler" network shows of yore to today's "second screen" live-tweets.
A child and old man sitting at a table with their respective music technologies
The Digital Voyage

The Importance of Technological Change in Shaping Generational Perspectives

If we name each generation based on the technological conditions it experienced, generations may soon encompass only a few years apiece.
An illustration of a tabloid magazine featuring Lord Byron
The Digital Voyage

With Social Media, Everyone’s A Celebrity

Social media has made constant exposure a common experience. To learn how to deal with the attention, maybe we should look to the first celebrities.
The Cast of Dave Malloy’s Octet. Photo by Joan Marcus
The Digital Voyage

The Art of Digital Addiction

Digital addiction is inspiring plays, books, films, and art -- just as other forms of addiction have in the past.
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The Digital Voyage

It’s Time to Break Up the Apple App Store

Apple's stranglehold on the App Store is problematic. Our technology columnist explains why.
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The Digital Voyage

The 4 Questions to Ask before You Unplug

If you're concerned about the internet's effects on the world and on yourself, unplugging might not be the answer.
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The Digital Voyage

To Save Civilization, Hang Up Your Phone

It's uniquely annoying to listen to one side of someone else's cellphone call. Our technology columnist examines why that is.
A futuristic view of air travel over Paris as people leave the Opera.
The Digital Voyage

Can Science Fiction Predict the Future of Technology?

Science fiction isn’t limited to predicting tech developments: It’s more broadly concerned with imagining possible futures, or alternative presents.
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The Digital Voyage

To Fight Fake News, Broaden Your Social Circle

Fake news is spread through online communities that become echo-chambers of like-minded ideas. What's your online community like?
A man on a laptop
The Digital Voyage

Making Men Online

How the internet has both reinforced and tweaked traditional gender pathologies, especially for boys and men.
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The Digital Voyage

To Cope with Digital Distraction, Embrace Digital Neurodiversity

The internet is changing our brains. Our columnist suggests that maybe this isn't such a bad thing.
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The Digital Voyage

Has the Internet Weakened Our Political Institutions?

According to our columnist, the internet has destabilized many of the informal institutions that underpin our democracy.
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The Digital Voyage

Is Media Piracy a Form of White Privilege?

How users feel about illegal downloading may have a lot to do with privilege.
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The Digital Voyage

The Future of Forgiveness Is Online

When our flame wars, insensitive Facebook comments, and rude texts are catalogued online indefinitely, can we still forgive and forget?
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The Digital Voyage

What Roe v. Wade Means for Internet Privacy

Roe v. Wade left Americans with the idea that privacy is something we can expect as citizens. But does the SCOTUS consider privacy a constitutional right?
Homura Akemi fandom
The Digital Voyage

3 Questions to Ask About Online Fandom (and Teen Fans)

The internet has played a large role in fostering intense fan communities. But are these high-octane, super-specific interests healthy? Or...interesting?
Mechanical Turk
The Digital Voyage

Amazon’s Mechanical Turk has Reinvented Research

Online services like Amazon's "Mechanical Turk" have ushered in a golden age in survey research. But is it ethical for researchers to use them?

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