Research & Projects

Publications

Lightful, D., Citing, X., & Thetic, M.P. (2025). Paper Title. Publication Source. DOI link.

Lightful, D., Citing, X., & Thetic, M.P. (2025). Paper Title. Publication Source.

Giardini, T., Buza, M., & Mirza, R. (2025). Global Digital Policy Roundup: May 2025. Tech Policy Press. Link
Mirza, R., Giardini, T., & Buza, M. (2025). How Can Governments Regulate Default Settings to Unlock User-Friendly Features? Tech Policy Press. Link
Mirza, R. (2024). How AI deepfakes threaten the 2024 elections. The Journalists Resource. Link
Mirza, R. (2023). Privacy Pioneers: AI as the New Frontier. Trustible. Link
Skeadas, T., Mirza, R., & Vishwanath, M. (2023). Digital Disruption: Measuring the Social and Economic Costs of Internet Shutdowns? Tech Policy Press. Link

Mirza, R. (2023). Case Study on Online Youth Harms – Project Daisy. Shorenstein Center. Link
Mirza, R. (2023). Case Study: Integrity or Influence? Facebook’s Governance Trade-offs in India. Shorenstein Center. Link
Jetty, S., Chen, T., & Mirza, R. (2022). Meme War: The GameStop Short Squeeze Campaign. Media Manipulation Casebook. Link

“A Narrative Review of Public and Political Engagement on Health and Climate Change.” Slides. Mirza, R., Birmingham Institute for Sustainability and Climate Action, July 16, 2025.

Mapping LLM-based tools that foster public discourse (forthcoming) | Prosocial Design Network

Mapped innovative tools and software built with large language models that foster public discourse on social media
Analyzed tools across key dimensions including purpose, function, and the degree of platform integration and user interaction
Surveyed tool developers and owners to support mapping
Co-authored final project report with collaborations from the Prosocial Design Network, Stanford University, Indiana University, Harvard University, Common Good AI, UCLA, and the University of Michigan

Tech Policy Tracker | Integrity Institute

Built comprehensive database for tracking U.S. federal and state technology legislation, including a user-friendly front-end searchable repository
Operational lead for the project: managed a team to grow tracker usage through community building, content development, and ongoing technical work
Designed semi-automated data processing pipeline using keyword-matching algorithms to filter technology-relevant bills, and machine learning for automated bill summarization and vector search functionality
Developed technical documentation and user guides

Note – all contributions to this project are on a purely voluntary basis.

Election Essentials | Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy, Harvard Kennedy School

Led project management, research, and website development for educational campaign promoting informed and responsible social media use during election periods
Produced workplan, and foundational research to inform key messages and content development
Produced materials for web and social media platforms and iterated based on user feedback

Interviewed privacy professionals to assess organizational readiness for AI governance responsibilities
Demonstrated both opportunities for privacy professionals, and gaps where upskilling is needed
Provided strategic recommendations for organizations building AI governance capabilities leveraging existing privacy teams and organizational structures

Capstone consulting project at Harvard Kennedy School with Twitter (now X) as a client
Mixed-methods analysis demonstrated prosocial use cases of Twitter in three autocratic country contexts (small business activity, coordinating crisis response, and social activism)
Extracted and analyzed tweets from Twitter’s Developer Platform and estimated the scope and severity of internet shutdowns across case studies; modeled associated economic costs
Co-conducted semi-structured interviews with researchers, journalists and NGO workers
Co-authored summary paper published in Tech Policy Press Link