Research

Algorithms, Distinct Modes of Knowing, and Embodied Expertise

My research examines how expertise is enacted and reconfigured as algorithmic technologies introduce new modes of knowing and evaluating knowledge. For my doctoral research on AI in radiology, I conducted a three-year ethnographic study at a University Medical Center in the Netherlands. This work shows how a new workplace jurisdiction emerges as algorithmic knowledge claims are interlaced with the situated work of multiple occupations coordinating along the clinical workflow (Kim, Rezazade Mehrizi & Bailey, 2025).

Building on this, my current research on AI in art and heritage conservation asks:

How does art conservators’ embodied expertise—developed through years of practice involving trained hands, eyes, and other senses—interact with imaging technologies and algorithmic analyses that inform crucial conservation decisions?

More broadly, I study how technology enacts ordering processes—such as commensuration and standardization—onto lived experience, and how this affects human judgment and evaluation. This inquiry cuts across my research agenda, including earlier work on online consumer reviews and the reactivity of restaurant owners (Kim & Velthuis, 2021).

Practitioner Engagement

As an ethnographer, I leverage deep field immersion and intensive observation of day-to-day practice to translate research into actionable insights for practitioners. My work has appeared in practitioner-oriented outlets, including European Journal of Radiology (Kim et al., 2021) and Insights Into Imaging (Kim et al., 2024). Through collaboration with professionals, I examine how algorithmic tools are negotiated and implemented in practice, bridging academic insight and real-world decision-making.