Deb Roy is professor of media arts and sciences at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he directs the MIT Center for Constructive Communication. He is also the co-founder and chief executive officer of Cortico, a social technology nonprofit that develops and operates a conversation platform designed to surface underheard voices both within communities and across divides. His research on applied machine learning, human-machine system design, and understanding large-scale social media ecosystems is directed toward developing safe and trusted spaces for meaningful, non-polarizing human connection and civic impact.