I am a postdoc at the Institute for Information Law where I am part of an interdisciplinary project that researches diversity in algorithmic news recommenders. I combine ethics and political philosophy to investigate 1) how, why, and what kinds of diversity matter in algorithmic news recommenders, and 2) to what extent nudging strategies are legitimate tools to promote news diversity.
I completed my PhD (cum laude) at the Institute for Information Law and Department of Philosophy. My dissertation, Between Empowerment and Manipulation: The Ethics and Regulation of For-Profit Health Apps, combines ethical and legal approaches. Building on theories of autonomy, vulnerability, trust, and manipulation I try to show how ongoing commercial relations between health apps and their users come with a promise of user empowerment, but also with an almost inevitable risk of manipulation. I propose reinterpretations of key concepts in the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive to help address the manipulative potential of for-profit health apps. I was a visiting PhD researcher at the Digital Life Initiative (Cornell Tech) from September until December 2018. To make this visit possible, I received grants from Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds, Studiefonds Ketel1, and the University of Amsterdam ('Lustrumbeurs').
I have a background in Political Science (BSc.) and Philosophy (BA., MA., both cum laude).