My postdoctoral research originated in the study of social informatics based on interactionist and emotionalist conceptual modelling to explain how the nature of interactions and the exchange and combination processes (embodied in social capital and social exchange theories) influences and affects interdisciplinary (research) collaboration. This led to my current advocacy and practice of Design Thinking as a research methodology to advance collaborative and co-operative stakeholder engagement.
My current work as an independent researcher, on responsible research and innovation (RRI) and the ethics of future emerging technology revolve around technology and innovation for social good. For example, I:
- initiated, convened and led a consortium of academics and civil society organizations (based in South Africa, Mexico, Chile, Brazil and the UK) in the presentation of research on Global South 4Better AI Futures, at the United Nations General Assembly 77, Science Summit, to explain the need for an ethical and actionable Global South AI Framework.
- advanced the integration of reflexivity (or continuous reflection by the researcher), in RRI themed research projects (such as, the EU EMBRACE and Human Brain Projects), for example, through my participation in the EBRAINS Workshop, HBP Partnering Projects: What role does ethics play in data governance and how does this influence the data governance work in the Human Brain Project?
A Responsible Digital Future, I believe, must include civil society involvement beyond and in addition to, voices from academia, government and industry for it allows us to reflexively understand and define what is of constitutive value to us as researchers, thereby giving us the awareness of what we should care about, how we relate to one another and the world around us, in relation to developing and maintaining that ethical, responsible digital future.
I am an Associate Editor of the Journal of Responsible Technology (formerly known as The ORBIT Journal).