Maria Eriksson

I am a postdoctoral fellow at Humlab who conducts research at the intersection of software studies, social anthropology, media archaeology and science and technology studies. My work explores the history and politics of everyday digital technologies, focusing on the role of software and algorithms in regulating how cultural content circulates online. 

I recently co-authored a book about Spotify which has for example been featured in Rolling Stone, Financial Times, and Süddeutsche Zeitung. I have also published research about disruptive software updates, the cultural dimensions of music recommendation systems, and the infrastructural politics of online streams. Currently, I am thinking about the genealogy of automated content identification tools, the human labor that underpins artificial intelligence, and the sonic of customization of workplace environments.

My current postdoc position is connected to the research project European History Reloaded: Curation and Appropriation of Digital Audiovisual Heritage, which draws together scholars from Humlab, Utrecht University, and the Institute of Contemporary History in Prague. Within the European History Reloaded-project, my work focuses on the development and critical analysis of audiovisual fingerprinting tools and other automated techniques for online content identification. 

I completed my Ph.D. in Media and Communication Studies at Umeå University in 2019 with a dissertation entitled Online Music Distribution and the Unpredictability of Software Logistics. Before I entered my postgraduate studies, I studied social anthropology at Stockholm University. Since May 2019, I am visiting the Department of Media Studies at Basel University in Switzerland. 

Feel free to visit my website or send me an email if you want to know more about my work.