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Valdemar M. Danry

About

 



 



Valdemar Danry is an award-winning researcher and artist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where he explores how AI can amplify rather than erode human cognition. He is also a founding and steering comittee member of the MIT Media Lab Advancing Humans with AI (AHA) Research Program. By combining insights from AI, cognitive science, and philosophy, he designs interactive large language model systems and wearable cognitive tools that help people think more critically, reason more clearly, and maintain intellectual independence in an age of automation. Danry's work has been published in premier academic venues including Nature: Machine Intelligence, Frontiers in Computer Science, and the ACM CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. He has worked with international researchers from UC Berkeley, Harvard, Georgia Tech, and ETH Zürich, as well as with leading industry labs such as OpenAI, Google DeepMind, Meta Reality Labs, and Microsoft Research. His work has been exhibited at BOZAR Brussels Centre for Fine Arts, Ars Electronica, Electrical Artifacts, and the MIT Museum, and featured in The New York Times, Wired, Forbes, Scientific American, Time Magazine, The Guardian, and TEDx.








Education


  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MIT Media Lab — PhD in Media Arts and Sciences, 2023–2027 expected. Group: Fluid Interfaces. Advisor: Pattie Maes. Dissertation area: AI systems for augmenting reasoning, critical thinking, cognitive agency, and intuition-building.

  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MIT Media Lab — Master of Science in Media Arts and Sciences, 2021–2023. Group: Fluid Interfaces. Thesis: *AI Enhanced Reasoning: Augmenting Human Critical Thinking with AI Systems*. Advisors: Pattie Maes, David G. Rand, Chenhao Tan.

  • University of Copenhagen — BA in Philosophy, 2017–2021. Thesis: “On Integrating with Computers: Phenomenological Approaches to Human-Computer Integrated Selfhood”. Advisor: Felipe León.



Academic Appointments / Research Positions


  • MIT Media Lab, PhD Research Assistant / PhD Researcher, Fluid Interfaces Group, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2023–present. Group: Fluid Interfaces.

  • MIT Media Lab, Graduate Research Assistant, Fluid Interfaces Group, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2021–2023.

  • MIT Advancing Humans with AI (AHA), Founding Member and Steering Committee Member, MIT Media Lab, 2024–present. Link: AHA.

  • Microsoft Research, Research Scientist Intern, Future Experiences (FX) / Interactive Multimodal Futures / Digital Empathy for Everyday AI, Summer 2025. Collaborators: Judith Amores, Javier Hernandez, Andrew D. Wilson. Project: *From Gaze to Guidance*. Links: paper, Judith Amores profile. Group: Interactive Multimodal Futures.

  • Meta Reality Labs, Research Scientist Intern, Redmond, WA, Summer 2024. Project under NDA.

  • Makropol, XR / Machine Learning Artist & Engineer, Makropol, Copenhagen, Denmark, 2021. Link.

  • Harvard Innovation Labs, Venture Co-founder, Researcher, and Developer, Harvard Innovation Labs, 2020.

  • Kaspar AI, Machine Learning / UX Engineer, Kaspar AI, Copenhagen, Denmark, 2021. 

  • Khora Virtual Reality, Virtual and Augmented Reality Expert / Technical Assistant, Khora Virtual Reality, Copenhagen, Denmark, 2018–2019. Link.



Teaching & Mentoring


  • Teaching Assistant, Modeling: Multimodal AI, MIT MAS.S60 / 6.S985, Spring 2026. Instructors: Paul Pu Liang, Dimitris Bertsimas, Jinhua Zhao, Sang-Gook Kim. Course page: Modeling: Multimodal AI

  • Teaching Assistant, How To Make (Almost) Anything, MIT Media Lab, 2022, 2023, 2024. Lectures / student support on making with AI; prototyping; physical/digital fabrication. Link: HTMAA.

  • Teaching Assistant, Cognitive Augmentation, MIT Media Lab, 2021. Organization and lectures on learning, critical thinking, cognitive augmentation, and technology; supported student prototypes.

  • Workshop Instructor / Mentor, Making with XR and AI, Haystack Labs, 2023. Worked with artists, illustrators, and technologists on AI/XR making tools.

  • Guest lecture / course contribution, “Agents” / Modeling: Multimodal AI, MIT, April 23, 2026.

  • Research mentoring — Critical Inker / Socratic AI writing and critical thinking interfaces, 2025–2026. Student/collaborator: Philipp Hugenroth. Link.

  • Research mentoring — Feeling the Facts / wearable fact-checking and misinformation, 2025–2026. Collaborators/students: Chitralekha Gupta, Nadia Victoria Aritonang, Dixon Prem Daniel Rajendran. Link.

  • Research mentoring — Dialogues with AI Reduce Beliefs in Misinformation but Build No Lasting Discernment Skills, 2024-2026. Anku Rani. Link.

  • Research mentoring — Mind Mapper / wearable AI and behavioral modeling, 2025–2026. Jean G. Billa. Link: ACM DL.

  • Research mentoring – ReLive: Using AI to Walk into Virtual Reality Spaces from Video Recordings of One's Past Can Increase the Experiential Detail and Affect of Autobiographical Memories. 2023-2025. Eli Villa. Link.

  • Research mentoring — Living Memories: AI-generated characters as digital mementos. 2022-2023. Lancelot Blanchard. Link.


        

Skills


  • LLMs, agents, and multimodal AI: PyTorch, Hugging Face Transformers, Qwen, Ollama, LoRA / parameter-efficient fine-tuning, vision-language model evaluation, multimodal prompting, retrieval-augmented generation, web-search-augmented generation, tool-using agents, structured generation, inference pipelines, model behavior analysis. 

  • AI evaluation and human data: human-centered AI evaluation, LLM evaluation, LLM-as-judge pipelines, model behavior analysis, benchmark design, behavioral experiments, randomized controlled trials, longitudinal studies, preregistration, survey design, qualitative interviews, IRB / human-subjects research.

  • Human-AI interaction and cognitive augmentation: human-AI interaction, cognitive augmentation, AI for critical thinking, Socratic AI, misinformation and belief change, AI companions, affective computing, human flourishing with AI, extended cognition, philosophy of mind, cognitive science.

  • Wearable AI and physiological interfaces: wearable AI, smart glasses, Meta Aria glasses, eye tracking, gaze-aware interfaces, physiological computing, EEG, electrodermal activity, haptics, electrical muscle stimulation, transcranial electric stimulation, AR/VR/MR, smart watches.

  • Statistics and data analysis: Python data analysis, mixed-effects models, regression, longitudinal data analysis, significance testing, visualization, coding and annotation, inter-rater reliability, behavioral data pipelines.

  • Prototyping and implementation: Python, JavaScript, web apps, Unity, electronics, Arduino, fabrication, 3D printing, generative 3D design, interaction design, rapid prototyping.

  • Communication and leadership: academic writing, grant writing, teaching, public speaking, interviews, workshop organization, interdisciplinary research leadership.

  • Languages: English, Danish, Japanese, German, Swedish, Norwegian.