Hello there 👋

Hi, I'm Caitlin!

I'm a PhD researcher studying how AI tools can support (rather than replace) genuine social learning. My background spans building software and hardware, creating architecture-scale media art, and teaching. I've also done research in psychology and cognitive science: I'm passionate about understanding how the people and places around us shape our thinking, and building tools that amplify those connections rather than replace them.

I'm genuinely excited about AI's potential - I'm not a technophobe by any means - but I also believe deeply in the irreplaceable value of human relationships and peer interactions in learning. This tension drives most of my work and writing.

You'll find me exploring topics like collaborative learning, social curiosity cascades, technology design, and various experiments in understanding how we learn together. I might also share the occasional slice of parenting-meets-PhD life (like discovering research insights through Magic School Bus books with my four-year-old). Follow along for thoughts on learning, curiosity, and designing better ways for people to think together.

You can read more about my work in my essay for Cosmos Institute.