Juliana Castro Varón


Hi! I’m Juli (pronounced who-li, but I’m not picky). I’m the Senior Design Editor of A.I. Initiatives at the New York Times. We use machine learning to uncover data patterns, and make journalism more accessible. I also draw, and my cartoons have appeared in The New Yorker

I’m interested in connecting people with art and stories. I’ve done this through book publishing, writing, infographics, drawing, and technology. I founded Cita Press, a publisher of open-access books, in 2017. Alongside a small but mighty team and Educopia, we raised ≈$1M to create digital readers, eBooks, and ensure Cita remains free for everyone. I’m very proud this work; check it out

I’m an affiliate at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society. When I was a fellow there in 2022, I studied the history of image manipulation, from darkroom to GenAI. Previously, I wrote a book about art and artists (Papel sensible, published in Spanish by Planeta), was invited to a bunch of podcasts, gave some talks, and worked for art museums. 

Talk to me about jokes, memes, the literary line between poor memory and fiction, taking baths, crying at the movies, sunset or Times New Roman. Online: Insta, Ex Twit, Threads, Arena, Email. Offline: I’m around!
ARE IMAGES REAL? (2022-2023)

‘Are Images Real?’ is an interactive index of the history of image manipulation, from darkroom tricks of the 1800s to modern-day deepfakes and AI-generated images. It uses a graphic chronology and storytelling to explore the evolution of image manipulation from its earliest days to the present, examining the ways in which photographic images have been altered, distorted, and transformed over time. This project explores misleading photographic manipulation through three key eras: analog and film photography; digital images; and generative artificial intelligence. I created ‘Are Images Real?’ a at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society.