David Moats is a sociologist and popular writer, based in London. He writes about the social dimensions of science and technology, particularly around big data, machine learning and AI, and is currently writing a book about the history of algorithms and decision making entitled Computer Says No. Many years ago, in the pre-post-truth era, he did a PhD about how people debate science topics on the internet.

David is currently a Research Fellow at the Centre for Consumer Society Research at the University of Helsinki. He recently edited a book about imposters and what they can tell us about society, which he 100% swears was him. He also does research and writing for documentary films and makes experimental music out of the online data detritus he collects for research.

He was the original film section editor at The Quietus where he covered cult films, horror, sci-fi, experimental and all the less trodden genres in between. He has also written about film and music for Electric Sheep and The Wire among others.