About Me

I am a Ph.D. student in the Department of Logic and Philosophy of Science at the University of California, Irvine. My work sits at the intersection of philosophy of science, philosophy of AI, social epistemology, and computational methods (in particular, applied machine learning and data science).

My research focuses on how AI systems shape and reveal patterns in human knowledge, behavior, and communication. In my current work, I develop and apply computational methods to analyze large-scale patterns in scientific metaphors. I also draw on feminist epistemology to interpret how AI systems reflect and reproduce knowledge.

I am involved in a range of interdisciplinary and community-oriented work, including collaborating with the Institute for Engineering AI and Society in the Samueli School of Engineering at the University of California, Irvine, organizing the Hypatia Society, a graduate-led initiative supporting women and gender minorities in philosophy, and running a reading group in feminist philosophy of science.

Outside of philosophy, I enjoy making art, baking, coding, and watching bad movies with my cat, Captain Cat Sparrow.

You can contact me at: thcotton [at] uci [dot] edu