Dawn Nafus

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About

Dawn Nafus is a leading anthropologist of data and technology, whose work critically examines how people make sense of—and are made sense of by—digital systems. Her research centers on the social and cultural dimensions of data, algorithms, and sensing technologies, with a particular focus on personal data, citizen science, and the politics of measurement. In her highly cited paper “Algorithms as fetish: Faith and possibility in algorithmic work” (2018, 69 citations), co-authored with Jamie Sherman, Nafus draws on David Graeber’s revision of fetishism to argue that algorithms gain power not through technical prowess alone, but through the faith and possibility we invest in them. This work illuminates how mundane data—like a robotic vacuum’s path—can be transformed into something meaningful, revealing the cultural work behind algorithmic promise. Nafus is also known for her influential edited volume *Quantified: Biosensing Technologies in Everyday Life* (2016) and her research on data reuse and community-based sensing. Her contributions have shaped critical data studies, earning her recognition as a key voice at the intersection of anthropology, science and technology studies, and human-computer interaction.