Michael Brier is a researcher at the University of Michigan, where he is completing a Ph.D. (ABD) in the Department of American Culture. His research examines the history and political economy of information technologies, with a particular interest in AI-infused smart systems and big data infrastructures. Situated at the intersection of science and technology studies (STS), geography, infrastructure studies, and sociology, his dissertation traces the history of cloud-based smart home devices and tracks how these data-collecting systems have reconfigured space, social dynamics, and networks of surveillance and control.

Michael’s research contributes to conversations about the risks and benefits of AI-infused Internet of Things (I.o.T.) and data-collection infrastructures. While such conversations often center around metrics of efficiency, convenience, security, and cost, he foregrounds the social transformations, hazards, and marginalization entailed by these information-gathering networks.