Bellagio Residents/

Payal Arora

April 2023 Cohort

Bellagio Residency: April 2023

Project: “Algorithms for aspiration: Everyday creative practice in the Global South”


Payal Arora is a critically acclaimed digital anthropologist, author, speaker and professor, whose work has been covered in more than 150 international media outlets, including the BBC, Financial Times, and The Economist. Payal came to Bellagio in April 2023 to work on a book with MIT Press/Harper Collins India about how everyday creative user experiences among marginalized global South users- the ‘next billion users’ are impacted by AI-enabled decision-making on social media platforms and how tech and non-tech organizations can reduce algorithmic harm and build inclusive platforms. She is a Professor in Inclusive AI Cultures at Utrecht University, and the Co-founder of FemLab, a Feminist Futures of Work initiative.