Yim Register
PhD Candidate in Information Science at University of Washington
Seattle, Washington, USA / White/Caucasian
they/them
🎓 University of Rochester, Bachelor of Science in Brain & Cognitive Sciences
🎓 University of Washington, Master’s in Information Science, PhD in progress
😁 Yim reads Wikipedia for fun, often about ocean animals or outer space!
Yim encourages learners who have experienced trauma to share their personal stories and to express themselves through data.
ABOUT THEIR WORK
Yim Register believes that everyone has a story to tell. Their work uses trauma-informed computing to encourage learners to express themselves through data. They focus on the effects of social media algorithms on mental health, personal agency, and self-expression. As a nonbinary person with autism, they love building educational tools for marginalized communities to learn more about data science and machine learning. Their core principles are Joy and Justice -- combining play with self-advocacy and a vision for a better world. Yim’s goal is to find creative ways to develop literacy around machine learning.
WATCH & DISCUSS
Watch: What does Facebook think about you?
Discuss:
How does Facebook know what you are interested in? What algorithms are created?
How do social media outlets use your data?
How can this recommendation data be harmful to some people?
OTHER RESOURCES
Data Science for Software Engineers:Bustin software myths with R
Learning Machine Learning (in order to advocate for yourself)
How can Machine learning empower someone to advocate for themselves?
ARTICLES
EXTENSION ACTIVITIES
Learn more about developing self-advocacy skills
Autism Appreciation Month: Things You Need to Know (Machine learning literacy for self-advocacy and algorithmic resistance)
Learn about Self-Advocacy: Speaking Up For youth with intellectual disabilities.
ADVICE TO YOUNGER SELF
Yim first learned computer science after high school.
"Engineers are more than just people who work on trains. Don't forget that you can do anything -- even when it seems hard, even when it seems impossible, even when you feel like you don't belong. Always tune in to what lights you up, sparks your joy, and makes you smile. You might not be the 'smartest' person in the room but you can be the kindest."
