Greg Little

PhD in Computer Science, MIT

Summary

Computer scientist with expertise in human computation, distributed systems, and user interface design. Pioneer in crowdsourcing research, with work that anticipated the modern paradigm of human-AI collaboration. Creator of novel CRDT algorithms enabling practical history pruning in distributed systems. Background spans academic research, video game development, and building production systems.

Education

Massachusetts Institute of Technology 2005 - 2011
Ph.D. in Computer Science
Thesis: "Programming with Human Computation" - Developed frameworks for incorporating human intelligence as computational primitives, presaging modern human-AI collaboration paradigms. Created TurKit, enabling iterative algorithms on Amazon Mechanical Turk.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology 2005 - 2007
M.S. in Computer Science
Thesis: "Programming with Keywords" - Developed keyword programming, a paradigm allowing users to express intent through loosely grammatical expressions rather than rigid syntax. Built a working prototype that used AI to intelligently search the space of syntactically valid expressions containing the given keywords.
Arizona State University 2000 - 2003
B.S. in Computer Science

Experience

Independent Researcher / Software Engineer 2018 - Present
Braid Project (braid.org)
  • Designed Sync9, a novel CRDT (Conflict-free Replicated Data Type) for collaborative text editing
  • Created the Antimatter algorithm, enabling practical history pruning in CRDTs - addressing a longstanding challenge in distributed systems where edit histories grow unbounded
  • Algorithm achieves full CRDT consistency guarantees while pruning history to zero after acknowledgment completion
  • Contributing to proposed HTTP extensions for native synchronization support
CTO Recent
Enso
End-to-end encrypted collaboration platform supporting real-time collaborative text editing and file sharing, similar to Signal but extended beyond messaging.
Solo Consultant Contract
Stealth Creative Tools Project
Hired privately by a husband-and-wife team of artists to build a Figma-style collaborative design tool from scratch — a stealth project kept entirely under wraps. Sole engineer on the project, owning the full stack and weaving deep AI integration into the creative workflow.
Algorithm Engineer Contract
Cryptocurrency Mining
Developed GPU-based mining algorithm for zCash, working around the Equihash proof-of-work function that was designed to resist GPU acceleration.
Labor Scientist 2011 - 2013
oDesk (now Upwork)
  • Researched and experimented with novel approaches to distributed hiring and "on-the-fly" workforce integration
  • Explored methods for incorporating freelance workers as computational resources within larger projects, extending thesis work on human computation to real-world labor markets
Video Game Developer Pre-2000
  • Operation Blockade - First-person shooter with fixed bunker defense gameplay
  • Operation Steel Tide - Submarine combat game featuring hybrid third-person navigation and first-person surface combat

Selected Publications

Little, G. (2011). Programming with Human Computation. Doctoral thesis, MIT.
Little, G., Chilton, L.B., Goldman, M., & Miller, R.C. (2010). TurKit: Human computation algorithms on Mechanical Turk. UIST 2010.
Carr, R.D., Konjevod, G., Little, G., Natarajan, V., & Parekh, O. (2009). Compacting cuts: A new linear formulation for minimum cut. ACM Transactions on Algorithms. (Erdős number: 3)
Little, G. & Miller, R.C. (2007). Keyword programming in Java. ASE 2007.
Little, G. & Miller, R.C. (2006). Translating keyword commands into executable code. UIST 2006.

Technical Skills

Polyglot programmer (36 years). Comfortable across the stack.

Personal Projects

Chip Simulator - MS Paint-style circuit design tool where colored pixels represent wires and logic gates. Simulates circuits in real-time using WebGL pixel shaders. Includes a functional 4-bit microprocessor with 16 memory cells, ALU (add/subtract), LCD display, and registers running stored programs.
Penrose Tile Explorer - WebGL visualization of Penrose tilings with infinite scrolling.
XY-Model Physics Simulators - Series of physics simulations based on the XY-model statistical mechanics system.
Spinor Visualization - Interactive visualization showing how a circle embedded in a real rubber sheet can be rotated twice around the same axis and return to its original state without tearing or being un-rotated.