Dario Rodighiero is an Assistant Professor of Science and Technology Studies at the University of Groningen, where he is involved in programs that bridge data science with society. Based at the interdisciplinary faculty Campus Fryslân, he coordinates the minor Data Wise and teaches data and visual literacy within the Data Science and Society Bachelor’s program. He maintains active collaborations with Harvard University, where he is a faculty associate at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society and a principal at metaLAB—a research and teaching laboratory dedicated to experimenting with digital technologies in the arts and humanities.
Combining computational techniques with design, Dario investigates how complex information can be revealed. Grounded in Science and Technology Studies, his research focuses on the mapping of science: he is the author of Mapping Affinities: Democratizing Data Visualization, which proposes new ways to design organizational charts. His work further engages with digital cultural archives, exploring questions of representation, interpretation, and self-identification. Visualization is approached as a method for knowledge design, bridging critical inquiry and design practice to foster reflection and dialogue by opening new visual modes of understanding.
Dario holds a PhD from the École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), where he attended the doctoral program Architecture and Sciences of the City. He has held research and teaching positions at MIT, the European Commission, Paris-Sorbonne University, and Sciences Po. The collaboration with Bruno Latour at the médialab shaped his engagement with digital platforms as tools for philosophical inquiry and collective exploration. He lectured at venues such as CERN and Ars Electronica, and exhibited his work at the MAXXI and Harvard Art Museums, reflecting a sustained commitment to public engagement and interdisciplinary collaboration.
Revue Design Arts Medias
2025
https://journal.dampress.org/issues/design-et-abstractions/grounding-ai-map-the-consequences-of-living-with-the-trouble-of-an-irreductionist-map
2025
Grounding AI Map: The Consequences of Living with the Trouble of an Irreductionist Map
Ficozzi, Matilde, Mathieu Jacomy, Dario Rodighiero, Anne Beaulieu, and Anders Kristian Munkhttps://journal.dampress.org/issues/design-et-abstractions/grounding-ai-map-the-consequences-of-living-with-the-trouble-of-an-irreductionist-map
Data visualizations are often seen as tools to make expert knowledge more accessible. Yet, without careful design, they risk simplifying or misrepresenting complex ideas. This case study examines the Grounded AI Map, a 100 m² floor installation at the Danish Technical Museum that visualizes millions of scientific articles on artificial intelligence. Visitors navigate this mapped knowledge physically, aided by automated bots that summarize and interpret content using large language models. These bots serve not just as guides but as mediators, prompting users to question and reinterpret the mapped knowledge through their own perspectives. By inviting interaction and critique, the map becomes a participatory space where knowledge is co-constructed. A quali-quantitative framework assesses this mediation by analyzing app data, observing visitor behavior, and conducting interviews. The study highlights how visualization, when combined with reflexive AI tools, can create more inclusive and situated ways of engaging with scientific knowledge.
Per–Forming Spaces
2025
https://hdl.handle.net/11370/d7e556b3-06df-4c6d-b8fa-5c21003734af
2025
Choreography, Design, and Technology: An Interview with Lins Derry from the metaLAB (at) Harvard
Derry, Lins, Dario Rodighierohttps://hdl.handle.net/11370/d7e556b3-06df-4c6d-b8fa-5c21003734af
In this enlightening interview with Lins Derry, a pioneering researcher at the intersection of dance, design, and technology, we explore the evolution of her groundbreaking work from its conception to its implementation in academia. Derry discusses her journey from professional dancer to leading figure at metaLAB (at) Harvard, emphasizing the integration of choreographic principles into interaction design. Through projects like the choreographic interface and data embodiment, she illustrates the potential of movement as a medium for interpreting and interacting with abstract data. Her work challenges traditional disciplinary boundaries, advocating for a more integrated approach to teaching and research that leverages the expressive power of the body in digital environments. This interview not only highlights Derry’s innovative contributions but also reflects on the broader implications of her work for enhancing sensory and expressive experiences with technology.
Nightingale
2025
https://nightingaledvs.com/visualizing-as-a-form-of-collective-care/
2025
Visualizing as a Form of Collective Care
Çay, Damla, Dario Rodighiero, and Weidi Zhanghttps://nightingaledvs.com/visualizing-as-a-form-of-collective-care/
Care is easy to recognize on a personal level, especially when it takes the form of small, attentive gestures woven into daily life. We see it in how someone nurses a sick friend, tends a garden, or stitches a quilt by hand. Each act, marked by presence, patience, and the quiet commitment to care through touch, time, and attention. It takes shape through quiet, deliberate acts that often go unnoticed, yet carry lasting weight and meaning. But what does care look like when it scales up—across complex systems where the risks are higher, the people more dispersed, and the consequences harder to see?
