About

Hi! I'm a physicist with experience in computational social science. I focus on comparing different social media platforms, trying to understand what makes them tick. I believe that data-driven toy models can help design social media platforms that are better, and more resilient to manipulation by bad actors. I also believe that timely research can influence decision-making and ultimately pressure platforms into design decisions that do more than blindingly chase engagement metrics.

My approach involves large-scale data collection, as well as analysis and modeling using techniques from physics, statistics, and machine learning. In particular, I currently focus on large language models as both object of research (their impact on social media) and as tools for simulating and analyzing social media content.

I'm currently a postdoctoral researcher in the IDea_Lab at the University of Graz, under Prof. Jana Lasser. An up-to-date list of my publications can be found on Google Scholar.

Email:
joaoxp [at] gmail [dot] com