About Me

I am an Assistant Professor in the Department of AI and Society at the University at Buffalo. I am also a Research Affiliate of the Center for the Study of Demography and Ecology at the University of Washington. This page will share updates on my research, including recent works and information for prospective students.

Research

My research sits at the intersection of artificial intelligence and social work, with a particular focus on high-stakes care systems such as child welfare and housing. I study how principles like justice are operationalized in these systems—and what that means for the design, evaluation, and governance of AI technologies. Rather than treating ethics as an abstract constraint added after the fact, my work emphasizes understanding how service systems already define and enact normative commitments, and offers strategies for how those commitments should shape AI development from the ground up. Methodologically, I draw on mixed methods, policy analysis, and computational approaches, with an overarching goal of building AI that is socially accountable, context-aware, and meaningfully responsive to human needs.

Recent Works

My recent work examines how concepts such as justice are encoded in human service administrative policy, and how these operational definitions can inform the design of responsible AI systems. This includes empirical analyses of state-level policy, conceptual frameworks for value-sensitive system design, and educational research on how to teach ethical and human-centered AI to diverse audiences. I am particularly interested in how AI systems interact with justice and resource constraints in real-world settings. A complete overview of papers and preprints are listed on my google scholar profile, with links to manuscripts, data, and supplementary materials when available. You might also view the current version of my cv.

Selected Publications

Rodriguez, M. Y., Goldkind, L., Victor, B. G., Hiltz, B., & Perron, B. E. (2024). Introducing Generative Artificial Intelligence Into the MSW Curriculum: A Proposal for the 2029 Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards. Journal of Social Work Education, 60(2), 174–182. https://doi.org/10.1080/10437797.2024.2340931

Rodriguez, M. Y., & Storer, H. (2020). A computational social science perspective on qualitative data exploration: Using topic models for the descriptive analysis of social media data. Journal of Technology in Human Services, 38(1), 54–86. https://doi.org/10.1080/15228835.2019.1616350

Lanier, P., Rodriguez, M.Y., Verbiest, S. et al.(2020) Preventing Infant Maltreatment with Predictive Analytics: Applying Ethical Principles to Evidence-Based Child Welfare Policy. Journal of Family Violence, 35, 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-019-00074-y

M. Y. Rodriguez, D. DePanfilis and P. Lanier. (2019). “Bridging the gap: Social work insights for ethical algorithmic decision-making in human services,” in IBM Journal of Research and Development, vol. 63, no. 4/5, pp. 8:1-8:8, 1 July-Sept. 2019, doi: 10.1147/JRD.2019.2934047.

Selected Professional Reports

Council on Social Work Education. (2025). Commission on Educational Policy Task Force on Technology and Social Work Education Report. Council on Social Work Education. url

For Prospective Students

I enjoy working with students who are curious about the human dimensions of algorithmic decision making and motivated to engage deeply with real-world problems. Prospective students do not need to arrive with extensive technical backgrounds, but they should be able to engage with social science scholarship readily. I value intellectual curiosity, care for and with community, and a willingness to learn across disciplinary boundaries. Students in my group often work on projects involving policy analysis, qualitative or mixed-methods research, algorithmic auditing and/or developing, and/or the design of decision-support tools. If you are interested in questions about justice, power, and responsibility in AI—and want to build research that is both rigorous and contextual —I encourage you to reach out. Please note that submission of this form does not constitute a formal application nor does it guarantee placement in the group.

Current Projects

I am currently recruiting students for the REAL-CARE research project. The goal of this project is to develop and implement a sociotechnical system to facilitate building helping relationships. The study uses mixed methods, combining qualitative data with analysis of existing records to explore relevant practices and perspectives. You can learn more by emailing the reserach team.

Teaching

My approach to education involves facilitating an experiential learning process, encouraging students to grapple with the very real tension between what we discuss in the classroom and how it applies to the real-world, all in the context of AI and Society. My ultimate aim is to encourage students to think about the best approach to answer the question, “What is the right thing to do?”

Selected Courses Taught

CSE 199

AIS 104

Community Engagement

The goal of my research is to serve the various communities of human services. From the individuals, families, and groups that find themselves within human service systems through to the staff and executive leaders who build, maintain and operate those systems, my research consistently asks:

1. What are the ethical implications of adopting algorithmic systems in human services?
2. What solutions might mitigate between the justice values of human service provision and the efficiency challenges of algorithmic systems?

I engage in community-based service and community-based research. A list of community partners is forthcoming.