Abstract
This thesis portfolio comprises of a technical project report about a summer internship experience performing refactoring and testing, as well as an STS research paper covering the ethics behind the usage and development of facial recognition technology (FRT) in China.
As software systems scale, managing large and complex codebases becomes increasingly challenging due to the accumulation of technical debt, redundant logic, and inefficient design patterns. The technical project report documents the contributions I made during my internship at Freddie Mac, where I undertook a performance and maintainability overhaul of two extensive internal service codebases. The project aimed to enhance code quality, optimize execution speed, and increase long-term scalability through a combination of refactoring and rigorous testing. In one codebase, I eliminated boilerplate code and improved object construction, which significantly improved code readability and reduced cognitive overhead for developers. The other codebase required deeper structural changes to address duplicated logic, deeply nested functions, and inefficient data processing techniques. By applying software engineering best practices, the paper details how I extracted helper functions, refactored multivalued column logic, and replaced performance-heavy operations with faster alternatives. To validate all changes, I implemented an extensive suite of unit, integration, and regression tests, leveraging different frameworks for scalable and reusable test coverage. These improvements led to measurable runtime reductions – some processes were shortened from hours to minutes – and paved the way for new feature development. I concluded the internship by documenting the changes, conducting team walkthroughs, and presenting a live demo showcasing the improved system performance and maintainability. Finally, the paper touches on future steps to further enhance the codebases to reduce human error.
The STS research paper explores the development, deployment, and regulation of FRT in China to analyze how government authorities, private companies, and citizens shape and are shaped by such technology. While FRT is often portrayed as a tool of convenience and efficiency, particularly in public infrastructure and financial transactions, my research aims to highlight its deeper role as a mechanism of social control embedded within China’s surveillance agenda. Through different governmental initiatives, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has extended FRT into daily life, integrating public and private camera systems to monitor behavior and suppress dissent, especially among politically sensitive groups. The paper traces the rise of major private tech firms like SenseTime and Hikvision, whose commercial success depends on their alignment with state goals. It also documents public responses—ranging from initial support to growing concern over privacy violations—leading to recent regulatory efforts, including a 2023 draft of official facial recognition guidelines and 2025 facial recognition payment regulations. Overall, the paper reveals a self-reinforcing network in which surveillance is normalized and citizens’ roles are constrained by cultural, legal, and infrastructural factors. The findings underscore the complex entanglement between technology, governance, and society, offering a critical lens on how state-driven innovation can redefine privacy, accountability, and power in the digital age. Finaly, the paper touches upon global consequences of and future implications of Chinese FRT, and emphasizes that while China can influence FRT applications, other countries too can influence FRT norms in China.
While the technical project and STS paper focus on different domains, they are united by a shared concern with how technologies are developed, maintained, and embedded into broader systems of control and governance. In my technical project, I addressed the importance of refactoring and rigorous testing to ensure software remains reliable, scalable, and ethically sound as it evolves. Similarly, my STS research examines how large-scale technological systems – once developed – are shaped by political agendas, corporate interests, and social forces. Both projects highlight that technology is never static; whether in a corporate codebase or a national surveillance network, continuous oversight, evaluation, and refinement are essential to prevent inefficiencies, abuses, or unintended consequences. Just as neglected codebases can accumulate technical debt that hinders innovation, poorly regulated technologies like FRT can accumulate social and ethical debt, ultimately affecting the rights and trust of individuals. Both projects also reveal how stakeholder dynamics critically shape the outcomes of technological development. At Freddie Mac, collaboration between developers, testers, and product managers was essential to ensure that refactoring efforts aligned with business goals without compromising system functionality. Likewise, in the Chinese FRT ecosystem, the interactions between government authorities, private companies, and citizens determine how surveillance technologies are deployed and justified. Together, these experiences emphasize that technology is not simply a neutral tool but a negotiated product of human relationships, power structures, and institutional priorities. Recognizing this interplay is essential for fostering more ethical and responsible technological practices across all fields.
