Tom van Nuenen

Research Scientist & Lecturer · UC Berkeley D-Lab & MaCSS

tomvannuenen [at] berkeley.edu

Tom van Nuenen

I’m a computational social scientist studying how algorithmic systems shape culture, norms, and inequality. Using methods like natural language processing, large language models, and cultural analytics, I’ve done work on value alignment in language models, discrimination in automated systems, authenticity on travel platforms, and worlds built in video games. Recent work on LLM value alignment and moral judgment has appeared at NeurIPS 2025 and ACM FAccT 2025 and 2026.

At Berkeley I coordinate the Master of Computational Social Science and teach computational methods to social scientists — leading curricula at D-Lab (40+ workshops) and the Digital Humanities Summer Minor, and previously teaching Computational Social Sciences in the Department of Sociology.

Research

AI norms and biases Language models Video games Digital tourism Cultural analytics

Methods

Python R SQL NLP Large language models Word embeddings Geospatial analysis Data visualization Bash / Git

Books

My two books examine how digital media reshape travel and play, themes that carry into my current work on AI.

2023
Traveling Through Video Games
Routledge — Tourism's language in game design
2021
Scripted Journeys
De Gruyter — Authenticity in hypermediated tourism
· · ·

Elsewhere