Research

I lead the Australian National University (ANU) Justice and Technoscience Lab (JusTech), a group of scholars working to advance more equitable approaches to science and technology governance. Lab members have carried out studies across several domains, including government services, health promotion and sport, humanitarianism, public safety, and welfare provision. My recent projects have focused on:

Digital Public Infrastructure and Social Assistance

Automated systems, biometrics, digital data, predictive analytics, and risk assessment models are increasingly used in accessing social assistance, often in the name of cost savings and fraud prevention. They are also tools being institutionalized through digital public infrastructure (DPI). We ask: how is DPI shaping experiences on the ground, and what are the implications for governance? Jenna Imad Harb and I have studied humanitarian aid and social welfare practices in Australia, India, and Lebanon and are editing a book on the rise of digital welfare states, which is forthcoming with Oxford University Press.

State-led Language Model Development and Governance

This project examines specific government plans that include the development of language models as part of larger national artificial intelligence (AI) strategies in Southeast Asia. Sarah Logan and I situate questions about the push for these and related forms of AI development within discussions of state interests and governance systems, considering how participatory engagement with communities traditionally not included in AI design might be possible. We hope to provide insights that not only shed light on strategies for building sovereign AI but also help guide human-centered AI practices that are attentive to the distinct conditions and needs of groups that can be marginalized in these efforts.

Governing Gender Inclusion in Australian Sports

Despite a surge in the popularity of women’s sports, most sportswomen receive substantially lower pay and have less job stability than their male counterparts. Culturally and racially minoritized women face barriers at elite and grassroots levels, and LGBTQIA+ constituencies continue to experience marginalization within and beyond sports, even with the introduction of gender equity policies. To better understand these patterns, this collaborative ARC-funded project (with co-chief investigators, Ruth Jeanes and Fiona McLachlan) maps gender inclusion efforts and their impacts in Australian sports, attending to gendered and racialized exclusion as well as interlocking forms of social difference.