Brett Binst

Brett Binst acquired a Bachelor of Science in Psychology at the VUB in 2020. Subsequently, he completed his Master’s degree in Sociology in 2022. His Master's thesis was a study into the preconditions and inequality of having an opinion about AI, inspired by Bourdieu’s theoretical framework laid out in La Distinction. Before starting on the Serendipity Engine project, he worked on the Barometer project, on behalf of the Koning Boudewijn Foundation in which he mainly performed quantitative analyses, comparing the labour market situation of migrants and natives.  

Brett is a PhD researcher on the 'Serendipity Engine' project. In this multidisciplinary project, the question of how to design information systems for serendipity is studied. Brett's research focuses on: When is serendipity an added value? How should serendipity be evaluated in recommender systems? And which features and affordances seem to be related to serendipity. Brett is especially interested in the social aspects and implications of recommender systems, platforms, and information systems in general.