Research Master’s in Media Studies, University of Amsterdam

• MA Thesis Title: ‘Hiding in Plain Sight’: Automated License Plate Recognition (ALPR) and the Politics of Visibility
• Supervisor: Dr. Gabriel Pereira

Bachelor of Science in Media, Culture, and Communication (MCC), New York University

• BS Thesis Title: Performing for the Surveillance Regime: An inquiry into the Feasibility of DHS’ Social Media Screening
• Supervisor: Dr. Helga Tawil-Souri

03/2024 - 03/2026 Research Assistant, University of Amsterdam

• European Research Council (ERC)-funded project Governance by data infrastructure in the post-pandemic democracy (DATAGOV) (Grant No. 101142006), under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Stefania Milan (10/2025 - 03/2026)
• University of Amsterdam’s starting grant-funded project AIsymmetries, under the supervision of Dr. Lonneke van der Velden (10/2025 - 03/2026)
• European Union’s Horizon Europe Programme-funded project Sustainability Performances, Evidence & Scenarios (SPES) (Grant No. 101094551), under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Stefania Milan (09/2024 - 08/2025)
• Dutch Research Council (NWO)-funded project Making the Hidden Visible: Co-designing for Public Values in Standards-Making and Governance (Grant No. MVI.19.032), under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Stefania Milan (09/2024 - 08/2025)
• University of Amsterdam’s Research Priority Area Global Digital Cultures-project Tracing the spatial and temporal dimensions of gig platforms’ evolution: A Comparative biography of Deliveroo and Upwork, under the supervision of Dr. Niels van Doorn and Dr. Niels Beerepoot **(03/2024 - 07/2024)

Van Doorn, N., Beerepoot, N., Kitamura, M., & Piukovici-Karadag, S. (2025). Continuity and change: Reflections on over a decade of research on platform-mediated gig work. Work Organisation, Labour & Globalisation, 19(3). https://doi.org/10.13169/workorgalaboglob.19.3.0010

Kitamura, M., G. Pereira. (by invitation, under review). ‘A network of collaborative intelligence’: The platformization of community algorithmic surveillance. Platforms & Society, Special Issue “Platformed Communities.”

Kitamura, M., G. Pereira. (by invitation, under review). Privacy, Autos, and Municipalities. Routledge Handbook of Digital Privacy and Surveillance Throughout Life, edited by Andra Siibak, Kelly Quinn, Cory Robinson, and Christoph Lutz.

Kitamura, M., N. Svensson-Hahr, G. Torres. (by invitation, under review). Crafting Witness: on the affective dimension of doing open source investigations. Digital Journalism, Special Issue “Press/Politics.”

Mørstad Johansen, S., Milan, S., Schoyen, M.A., … Kitamura, M., Masood, D, Ouma, M. (2025). The transition from below: Aspirations, problems and policy solutions across the globe. SPES project, (https://www.sustainabilityperformances.eu/publications-deliverables/).

“A network of collaborative intelligence”: The platformization of community algorithmic surveillance, Association of Internet Researchers 2025, Universidade Federal Fluminense (UFF), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | 15 – 18 October, 2025

The Transparency Paradox of AI Surveillance: Legitimating Automated License Plate Recognition (ALPR) through Claims of Transparency, Surveillance Studies Network (SSN) AI and Surveillance North America Workshop, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada | 27 – 28 May, 2025

Open Source Investigation (OSINT) as a Form of Resistance, Moving Humanities Conference, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands | 1 November, 2024

SoSe 2026: Data Ecologies