Joshua Garland

Joshua Garland serves as Center Director and Associate Research Professor at Arizona State University's Center on Information and Narrative Complexity, part of the Global Security Initiative. He is also a Faculty Affiliate with ASU's Center for the Study of Religion and Conflict. Previously, he was an Omidyar and Applied Complexity Fellow at the Santa Fe Institute.

Dr. Garland received his academic training at the University of Colorado at Boulder, where he earned his Ph.D. in Computer Science and M.S. in Applied Mathematics. His undergraduate studies were completed at Colorado Mesa University, where he obtained a dual B.S. in Mathematics and Computer Science.

Dr. Garland's research focuses on diverse complex systems including climate, ecology, politics, and dynamical systems. At ASU's Global Security Initiative, he specializes in online human social dynamics, leveraging social theory, machine learning, time series analysis, and natural language processing to explore intersections of AI, global politics, social media, narrative, and the information environment. His work aims to preserve a healthy information ecosystem and mitigate polarization without censorship by developing citizen-driven counterspeech initiatives, advancing media literacy, and investigating narrative's role in susceptibility to information manipulation.

His recent publications demonstrate a clear shift toward applying complexity science to social media dynamics, disinformation, and AI-generated content. Garland has increasingly focused on understanding online hate speech, counterspeech mechanisms, and the role of large language models in both creating and mitigating online harms. His work bridges theoretical complexity science with practical applications for improving information ecosystems.

Dr. Garland has received recognition for his work, including the IDA-13 Frontier Prize for his research on nonlinear modeling in computer performance prediction.

As Center Director, Garland leads interdisciplinary research teams exploring the complex dynamics of information environments. His work connects computer science, social theory, and security studies to address pressing challenges in the digital information age. He has secured research funding for projects including 'Collaborative Research: Targeted resampling of deep polar ice cores using information theory' and work on understanding social tipping points in animal societies.

Dr. Garland maintains active research laboratories focused on information dynamics and narrative complexity. His teams combine expertise in data science, network analysis, and social theory to develop innovative approaches to understanding how information flows and narratives form in complex social systems.