My name is Ian Beacock – & I put ideas to work for the public good. Criss-crossing disciplines, I focus on the past, present, & future of democracy.
R&D at Jigsaw/Google. Foundational strategic research that helps inspire & inform our AI portfolio for human agency.
Now:
Director of Strategy at Gemic, focusing on tech & society. Historian of democracy, trained at Stanford (PhD 2019).
Before:
New work on AI usage & perceived agency (2026). Public roadmap about AI for civic dialogues, coauthored with 13 global experts. Fieldwork in Singapore, Sydney, Kentucky, Austin, LA, Manila, São Paulo, Tokyo, CDMX, Vancouver. Interviewed on WNYC/NPR’s On the Media re: conspiracy theories. Prizewinning HCI article on information habits.
Some Recentish Activities:
