My journey through academia with Precog by my side

Who am I?

Hello! Rahul here, and you might find my journey to be quite an interesting (and likely, unique) one! I entered IIIT-H through the CHD program, a combination of Computer Science and Humanities that shaped the way I think about technology and society. My research began with an ethnographic lens, studying toxicity in the gaming world. In addition to that, I also wanted to build something that could directly impact the issue I was studying. One interesting topic I remember reading about Precog back then was Fake News Detection (look for papers at) which really got my curiosity! This is what led me to explore computational approaches that tackle this issue from various different angles.

What did I actually do?

I joined Precog in UG-4 via an Independent Study. One thing to note here is that most of the students here are undergrad students in a dual degree program (including me). This means, for us, the world of academia is actually a lot more novel, exciting (and could be initially overwhelming) than returning students. Within the first few months, it felt like my wishes were answered. We were presented with an opportunity to work on a project that was tackling a thorny, relevant, and technically fascinating problem: detecting toxicity in memes. This was a collaborative project with collaborators based in GSU, Atlanta, Georgia. 

Memes are so chaotic, and they carry meaning through text, images, and cultural references, often in ways that are intentionally ambiguous. What made this project so compelling to me was how much it relied on everything I’d learned so far, from understanding the role of context and irony, to now thinking about how a model could be taught to recognise that same complexity. It felt like a major converging point of CHD and CS for me. This work got accepted into ACL findings. You can take a look at the paper here: https://arxiv.org/abs/2411.12174.

That experience ended up opening another unexpected door. Through the project, I got the opportunity to spend five months in Atlanta at Georgia State University, working in person with our collaborators Prof. Ugur Kursuncu and Trilok Padhi. Being there added a whole new dimension to the work;  actually sitting down together and making progress. During that time, we also started exploring some new directions around human behaviour and systems, which are still very much in progress. We even got to present this idea at HCI Southeast Meetup at GaTech that I got to attend due to this opportunity! It was an incredible learning experience, and getting to work closely with researchers across continents made the whole thing feel very real and very exciting.

Alongside this, I also worked with Akshit Sinha and Deeptansh Sharma as well as dabbled in Controlled Text Generation with Karuna and Anirudh. All these projects were excellent learning experiences that acted as some of my first introductory projects into the field of CS research. 

One interesting thing to note here is that when I joined Precog through an Independent Study, I expected to just quietly contribute to an ongoing project. I wasn’t part of the Honours program or doing a full thesis under Prof. PK, so I assumed I’d stay in a focused, limited role. But right from the start, that wasn’t how things worked. A few months in, I was asked to lead the lab’s entire recruitment process, a key responsibility that gave me a front-row seat to how the lab runs and grows. It was empowering to be trusted with something so central, and it reflected the culture Precog builds: if you take initiative, and care about the work, you’re given the space to lead, regardless of where you started.

To people applying, I can personally tell you right off the bat, me and my fellow labmates weren’t some ultra-polished geniuses. Most of us figured things out as we went. What mattered was that we stayed curious and actually cared about the work. Through this recruitment process, I have had a chance to meet some truly excellent people. And honestly, I saw a lot of myself in them, the nervousness, the overthinking, the “am I even good enough for this?” feeling. I’ve been on both sides now, and I can tell you: none of that hurts your chances. What stood out were people who were honest and willing to try. Think about it this way, right, the people reading your application or interviewing you? They’ve probably been in your exact spot not too long ago. They’re not looking to trip you up or hear some textbook-perfect answer.

Research is often quite messy, an exploration driven by curiosity more than a rigid structure. That’s what made Precog such a great fit for me. It brings just the right amount of organisation to that chaos, enough to scale, support dozens of students, and still stay true to the spirit of open-ended inquiry. What stood out to me most was the culture of trust. Prof. PK is hands-off in the best possible way: he gives you the space to think independently, pursue your own directions, and make mistakes, while always being around when it counts. It’s common for students to be juggling multiple projects, trying out bold ideas, and collaborating across disciplines. In many ways, the lab gave me room to put both sides of my CHD training into practice, thinking critically, building rigorously, and doing it all in a community that values initiative.

Once a Precogger, always a Precogger

This is something you will realise soon after becoming a part of this lab. The friendships you form and the encouragement you get from the people here who believe in you start to feel less like work and more like home. Even after I graduate I know the connections, lessons, and memories from this place will stay with me, shaping how I work and think wherever I go.

On the day of graduation, meeting all my fellow graduating batchmates (from Precog, HSRC and other labs) along with the professors that helped me get to where I am felt like the perfect celebration for the journey we all went through.

As I prepare to head to Georgia Tech for my MS, I’ve been thinking a lot about how far things have come. CHD gave me a way to look at tech through both code and context, and that combination ended up shaping how I approach problems. I didn’t always know where I fit in, but over time, I found myself drawn to building things, experimenting, and getting into the technical weeds. Looking back, I’m grateful for how both sides of the program pushed me, and how they ended up complementing each other in ways I didn’t expect. To the people that come after us, take the risks, ask the questions that you think you really need answered. And unlike me, don’t be afraid to ask for help! A huge thanks to the Precog lab and Prof. PK for giving me the chance to grow, trusting me, and challenging me with problems that showed me how research can be both rigorous and joyful.