About

Nick Obradovich is a research scientist at the MIT Media Lab in the Scalable Cooperation group, an interdisciplinary lab of social, natural, and computer scientists focused on addressing large-scale cooperation challenges.

He holds a PhD from the University of California, San Diego and completed his postdoctoral training at Harvard University’s Belfer Center. He is an Associate Senior Research Scientist at the Max Plank Society’s Center for Humans and Machines, is the Human-Environmental Systems Fellow at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, and is a research affiliate at MIT’s Environmental Solutions Initiative.

In his work, he combines his interests in artificial intelligence, climate change, and human behavior with his affinity for data science and computational methods.

Nick’s AI research explores the intersection of humans and machines. He has investigated the effects that AI might have on our emotions — for good and for bad — and has examined easing the study of AI agents. He has studied the potential for AI to alter media. And he has outlined the novel science of machine behavior.

Nick’s climate research explores the human impacts of warming. He has uncovered climatic effects on mental health, mood, physical activity, and sleep as well as daily governance, democratic turnover, and civil conflict. He has also studied climate-related political behaviors, attitudes, and adaptation of expectations.

Nick’s work regularly appears in top academic journals and in major media outlets including The Atlantic, the New York Times, and the Wall Street Journal.