Tricia Wang

Tricia Wang, Ph.D. (pronounced “Wong”), a social scientist, consultant, and thought leader, is on a relentless quest to ensure technology serves humanity, fostering social impact at the intersection of data and humanity. 

Renowned for helping companies unearth pivotal customer behavior insights to unlock growth, Wang co-founded Sudden Compass and has advised industry giants like Google, Spotify, and P&G. Her insights have been featured in publications like Quartz, Buzzfeed, Techcrunch, The Atlantic, Al Jazeera, Slate, Wired, The Guardian, and Fast Company.

In a world where data is the cornerstone of innovation, Wang has long recognized its potential, well before the recent rush of consumer-facing AI products. Her unique fusion of ethnography and data science offers an invaluable perspective on technology, design, and human experience. Wang has been instrumental in launching tech labs with clients, including a recent collaboration with The World Economic Forum.

As an acclaimed speaker, her enlightening keynotes and her TED Talk delve into AI, data, and their societal, economic, and personal impacts. Wang’s concept of “thick data” advocates for deep human understanding in AI and emerging technologies, transcending conventional data analysis.

Her ethnographic fieldwork spans from China to South America and North America, offering unique insights into the adoption of social media under authoritarian regimes and advocating for consumer-centric approaches in the private sector.

Wang’s diverse career began in the mid-1990s with mobile phone services, evolving to developing tech centers in low-income NYC neighborhoods and global business research. Her roles have ranged from filmmaker at NASA for Sally Ride, to director at New York’s first youth television network, and an HIV/AIDS education advocate. She is a Fulbright Fellow, National Science Foundation Fellow, and the first Western fellow at The China Internet Network Information Center in Beijing, China.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Wang co-founded Last Mile, an underground supply chain that distributed over 1 million masks across the USA, gaining recognition in The New Yorker in a feature story. 

Serving as an advisor to Dangerous Ventures, ReSeed.Farm, and SKU, Wang holds affiliations with Harvard University’s Berkman Center for Internet & Society, US Japan Leadership Program, and  Data & Society. She is a member of the World Economic Forum Global Futures Data Council and Climate Coalition and has served as a fellow at the Geo Tech Atlantic Council. 

Currently penning a book on how humans can be more human in the age of AI, Wang is investigating how the emergence of AI is leading to a shift in our identities from users to what she calls “shapers,” people who have a new set of skills to cooperate with AI by being more human.  

Tricia Wang is available to advise your organization via virtual and in-person consulting meetings, interactive workshops and customized keynotes through the exclusive representation of Stern Speakers & Advisors, a division of Stern Strategy Group^®.