Lauren Lee McCarthy

Biography

Lauren Lee McCarthy (she/they) is an American artist, computer programmer, and educator based in Los Angeles whose work examines social relationships amid surveillance, automation, and algorithmic living. Working across performance, software, and installation, McCarthy investigates how technology reshapes intimacy, trust, and everyday human connection, often inserting herself directly into systems of automation to reveal their emotional and ethical stakes. She is best known for projects such as "LAUREN," in which she attempted to become a human version of a smart home assistant, and "SOMEONE," which extended similar themes into networked domestic surveillance; both projects received significant recognition, including the Ars Electronica Golden Nica, the Japan Media Arts Social Impact Award, and the IDFA DocLab Award for Immersive Non-Fiction. McCarthy holds dual Bachelor of Science degrees in Computer Science and Art and Design from MIT and a Master of Fine Arts from UCLA, where she now serves as an Associate Professor in the Design Media Arts department. She is also the creator of p5.js, a widely used open-source JavaScript library that has significantly expanded access to creative coding education worldwide, and she remains an active advocate for software literacy and diversity within technology and the arts as an alumna of the Processing Foundation. Her work has been exhibited internationally at venues including the Barbican Centre, the Seoul Museum of Art, the Chronus Art Center, and SIGGRAPH, and she has been recognized as a Sundance New Frontier Story Lab Fellow, Eyebeam Rapid Response Fellow, and Creative Capital Grantee.