Zhilin Zhang
Zhilin Zhang
Department of Computer Science,
Robert Hooke Building
Directions Postal Address
Biography
I am a DPhil candidate in Computer Science at the University of Oxford, working on the Ethical Web and Data Architecture project led by Sir Nigel Shadbolt and Sir Tim Berners-Lee.
My research explores how AI systems influence governance, trust, and collective decision-making in online communities. I investigate how intelligent systems can be designed to align with community values and support effective governance at scale, drawing on perspectives from human-computer interaction, artificial intelligence, and social computing.
Through a combination of empirical research and system design, I study how AI can support governance in decentralised social systems and other community-driven environments. My work has been published at leading venues including CHI and CSCW.
Prior to Oxford, I completed both my B.S. and M.S. in Computer Science at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), where I worked with Lawrence Angrave, Karrie Karahalios, and ChengXiang Zhai.
Selected Publications
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Attitudes‚ Imagined Roles‚ and Governance Boundaries for AI in Decentralized Social Media
Zhilin Zhang‚ Jun Zhao‚ Ge Wang‚ Sruthi Viswanathan‚ Tala Jo Ross‚ Samantha−Kaye Johnston‚ Diyi Liu‚ Hayoun Noh‚ Max Van Kleek and Nigel Shadbolt
In Proceedings of the 2026 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. Pages 1–17. 2026.
Details about Attitudes‚ Imagined Roles‚ and Governance Boundaries for AI in Decentralized Social Media | BibTeX data for Attitudes‚ Imagined Roles‚ and Governance Boundaries for AI in Decentralized Social Media | DOI (10.1145/3772318.3790295)
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Trouble in Paradise? Understanding Mastodon Admin's Motivations‚ Experiences‚ and Challenges Running Decentralised Social Media
Zhilin Zhang‚ Jun Zhao‚ Ge Wang‚ Samantha−Kaye Johnston‚ George Chalhoub‚ Tala Ross‚ Diyi Liu‚ Claudine Tinsman‚ Rui Zhao‚ Max Van Kleek and Nigel Shadbolt
In 27th ACM Conference on Computer−Supported Cooperative Work and Social Computing (CSCW 2024). 2024.
Details about Trouble in Paradise? Understanding Mastodon Admin's Motivations‚ Experiences‚ and Challenges Running Decentralised Social Media | BibTeX data for Trouble in Paradise? Understanding Mastodon Admin's Motivations‚ Experiences‚ and Challenges Running Decentralised Social Media | Download (pdf) of Trouble in Paradise? Understanding Mastodon Admin's Motivations‚ Experiences‚ and Challenges Running Decentralised Social Media | DOI (10.1145/3687059)