Sterling Williams-Ceci
PhD Student, Information Science, Cornell University
scw222 [AT] cornell.edu
Bio
I'm a fifth-year PhD Candidate in Information Science at Cornell University, where I am extremely fortunate to be co-advised by Professor Michael Macy and Professor Mor Naaman. I am a member of Professor Macy's Social Dynamics Lab and Professor Naaman's Social Technologies Lab. I will be going on the academic job market in 2026.
My research interests are in psychological effects of our interactions with AI, such as persuasion and reinforcement of false beliefs. As two recent examples of this work, I have conducted online experiments showing that AI-generated suggestions during the writing process can influence people's attitudes about societal issues when they represent biased viewpoints, and I am currently pursuing a second line of work showing that anthropomorphic design features in AI chatbots can make vulnerable groups of women more willing to believe unsupported sexist stereotypes. My work has shown evidence of policy impact, with one of my papers being cited in NATO's 2024-2025 Science & Technology Macro Trends Report (linked here). My work has also received attention from the popular media, such as my paper on attitude shift with AI suggestions that was cited by Gary Marcus in his Substack for over 85k subscribers (linked here).
I enjoy disseminating my research through public speaking. I have been invited to present my research as a distinguished speaker at several university-wide events, such as the Cornell Ivy+ Deans Conference, the Cornell Board of Trustees, the Cornell Trustee Council Annual Meeting, and the Innovation Meets Impact Showcase at Cornell Tech. In March 2024, I won 2nd Place in Cornell University's 3 Minute Thesis Competition, a contest in which graduate students from across the university are challenged to present an accessible summary of their PhD work in only 3 minutes with only 1 slide. I have also been fortunate to present my research at several conferences, including INFORMS, APS (Association for Psychological Science), SPSP (Society for Personality and Social Psychology), and SRCD (Society for Research in Child Development). Most recently, I was chosen as one of two PhD students from across Cornell to present our AI research at the 2025 International Advisory Board for Graduate Studies in Hong Kong.
I received my B.A. in Social Psychology along with a B.A. in the Robert S. Harrison College Scholar program (also at Cornell) in 2021, with formal minors in Information Science and Communication. I was honored as a Summa cum Laude graduate, a Merrill Presidential Scholar (the top 1% of my graduating class) and a Phi Beta Kappa inductee. In my graduate studies, I have been fortunate to receive exceptional mentorship from both of my coadvisors and many other professors along the way, which I enjoy paying forward by mentoring other students. As hobbies, I enjoy outdoor long-distance running, baking, and learning new coding languages (my favorite is R).
Publications
Most recent publications on Google Scholar.
Anthropomorphic AI Chatbots Reinforce the Credibility of a Sexist Stereotype Among Conservative Women
Sterling Williams-Ceci, Rachel H. Minkowitz, Lior Zalmanson, Michael W. Macy, Mor Naaman
Under submission; accepted as a single presenter talk at SPSP 2026 (72 accepted/almost 600 submissions, ~12% acceptance rate)
Biased AI Writing Assistants Shift Users’ Attitudes on Societal Issues
Sterling Williams-Ceci, Maurice Jakesch, Advait Bhat, Kowe Kadoma, Lior Zalmanson, Mor Naaman
Accepted in Principle at Science Advances; covered by Gary Marcus in his Substack blog with 85K+ subscribers (see Press Coverage)
What I wish I knew when I switched fields for my PhD
Sterling Williams-Ceci
Nature Human Behaviour, 2025
Misinformation does not reduce trust in accurate search results, but warning banners may backfire
Sterling Williams-Ceci, Michael W. Macy, Mor Naaman
Scientific Reports, 2024
Assessing gender bias in particle physics and social science recommendations for academic jobs
Robert H. Bernstein, Michael W. Macy, Wendy M. Williams, Christopher J. Cameron, Sterling C. Williams-Ceci, & Stephen J. Ceci
Social Sciences
Combating Sharenting: Interventions to Alter Parents' Willingness to Post About Their Children Online
Sterling Williams-Ceci, Gillian E. Grose‡, Annika C. Pinch‡, Rene F. Kizilcec, Neil A. Lewis, Jr.
Computers in Human Behavior, 2021; also accepted at SRCD 2021 and awarded as a Top 1% of posters exemplifying interdisciplinary research in child development
Anthropomorphic AI Chatbots Reinforce the Credibility of a Sexist Stereotype Among Conservative Women
Sterling Williams-Ceci, Rachel H. Minkowitz, Lior Zalmanson, Michael W. Macy, Mor Naaman
Under submission; accepted as a single presenter talk at SPSP 2026 (72 accepted/almost 600 submissions, ~12% acceptance rate)
Biased AI Writing Assistants Shift Users’ Attitudes on Societal Issues
Sterling Williams-Ceci, Maurice Jakesch, Advait Bhat, Kowe Kadoma, Lior Zalmanson, Mor Naaman
Accepted in Principle at Science Advances; covered by Gary Marcus in his Substack blog with 85K+ subscribers (see Press Coverage)
What I wish I knew when I switched fields for my PhD
Sterling Williams-Ceci
Nature Human Behaviour, 2025
Bring Wisdom into AI Education (Before It's Too Late)
Sterling Williams-Ceci, Wendy M. Williams
Roeper Review, 2025
Misinformation does not reduce trust in accurate search results, but warning banners may backfire
Sterling Williams-Ceci, Michael W. Macy, Mor Naaman
Scientific Reports, 2024
AI is Perceived as Less Trustworthy and Less Effective when Using Emotional Arguments to Moderate Misinformation
Benjamin Silver, Sterling Williams-Ceci, Mor Naaman
Extended Abstract of the CHI 2025 Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
'Is Reporting Worth the Sacrifice of Revealing What I've Sent?' Privacy Considerations When Reporting on End-to-End Encrypted Platforms
Leijie Wang, Ruotong Wang, Sterling Williams-Ceci, Sanketh Menda, Amy X. Zhang
Symposium on Usable Privacy and Security (SOUPS), 2023
Assessing gender bias in particle physics and social science recommendations for academic jobs
Robert H. Bernstein, Michael W. Macy, Wendy M. Williams, Christopher J. Cameron, Sterling C. Williams-Ceci, & Stephen J. Ceci
Social Sciences
Combating Sharenting: Interventions to Alter Parents' Willingness to Post About Their Children Online
Sterling Williams-Ceci, Gillian E. Grose‡, Annika C. Pinch‡, Rene F. Kizilcec, Neil A. Lewis, Jr.
Computers in Human Behavior, 2021; also accepted at SRCD 2021 and awarded as a Top 1% of posters exemplifying interdisciplinary research in child development
CV
Click here for the most up-to-date version of my CV: Link to my CV
Acknowledgments
Many thanks to Dr. Martin Saveski for creating this awesome website theme, and for letting me and others use it for free.Photo credit goes to Daye Kang, one of my wonderful friends in my PhD cohort!