IST Research Talks: Betsy Campbell and Nick Giacobe
Date & Time: December 04, 2025 from 12:05 PM - 01:15 PM
Location: Westgate Building | E202
A Practice Theory Approach to Understanding and Shaping the Digital Future
Presented by Betsy Campbell, associate teaching professor, human-centered computing and social informatics
This talk introduces a practice theory approach to understanding and influencing the digital future. Practice theory emphasizes the interdependencies of social practices, including human, non-human, and post-human agents. Because practice theory conceptualizes the social world as constellations of sequential actions, studies require methodological traditions that are attuned to complexity, dynamism, and interconnectedness. Findings from practice theory studies lend themselves to applied settings and help to bridge the gap between research and industry. Drawing on several research examples related to deepfakes, mars rovers, and other innovations, this talk demonstrates the usefulness and range of a practice theory approach. Attendees will leave with an awareness of flat ontologies, practice-oriented methodologies, and ways to get involved with research.
About the Speaker
As an Ethnomethodologist, Dr. Betsy Campbell studies the practices associated with technological innovation and the teaming of humans with AI. Campbell is a Fulbright Specialist and the recipient of two Academy of Management awards. Earlier in her career, Campbell founded high-tech companies, helped create a business unit within an established company (acquired by Lucent for $1.5B), and launched a 501(c)(3) (Harvard Alumni Entrepreneurs) which she grew to over 5,000 members worldwide before leaving to get her PhD. She also helped launch the MIT Community Innovation Lab. Her work at Penn State has been funded by the National Science Foundation, RSM Foundation, and Anchor Point Foundation.
Campbell is an active author and artist. She has published two books with Routledge – Practice Theory in Action: Empirical Studies of Interaction in Innovation and Entrepreneurship and The Innovator's Discussion: The Conversational Skills of Entrepreneurial Teams -- as well as a growing collection of chapters and articles. Through her work as a Visiting Scholar at the Hastings Center, a virtual Resident with Jacob's Pillow, and a Fellow with the Edgelands Institute, she has developed research-based and theory-informed creative works, often about issues of social justice and technology. A recent work about AI, The Algo, debuted at the Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence at the University of Cambridge (UK).
Her ongoing memberships include: the Explorers Club, the UNESCO Inclusive Policy Lab, and the Alan Turing Institute's AI and Arts group. Recently, she was an invited participant in the Smithsonian Apollo Dialogues Workshop to mark the 50th anniversaries of the moon landings.
Nick Giacobe, associate teaching professor, privacy and cybersecurity informatics, will also speak on his research
View past presentations on the IST Research Talks page.
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