Welcome

AI researcher

I am a senior researcher and research scholar, studying the relationship between people and online technology. I help organisations to build emerging technologies and artificial intelligence in a socially-responsible way.

Learn about my work
Find out about me

About me

My work has always focused on connecting with people. I started out in public engagement, before moving into user research and participatory design. Today, I work in UK and international research for a FTSE 100 brand. I’m also a research scholar in digital anthropology and user experience at the Ronin Institute.

My research specialism is artificial intelligence (AI), particularly conversational AI, data and privacy. Most recently, I’ve been studying the exchange of privacy and convenience in the use of smart speakers in the UK.

Fellow of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland (The RAI)
Member of the Ethnographic Praxis in Industry Community (EPIC)
Member of the European Association for the Study of Science and Technology (EASST)
Affiliated Member of the EASA Applied Anthropology Network

Key skills

  • Digital ethnography
  • Responsible technology
  • AI ethics and privacy
  • Qualitative research
  • Mixed methods research
  • User experience research
  • Survey design
  • Leadership
  • Teamwork
  • Problem-solving
  • Insights and recommendations
  • Communication
  • Project management

Recent work

Smart speaker ownership continues to grow, reducing the boundaries between corporations and consumers. More than one in five people in the UK now have access to at least one artificially intelligent (AI) smart speaker in their home (Quadrangle, 2020). For the people living with Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant and Apple Siri, smart speaker assistants offer convenience in many aspects of home-life. However, what are the dangers of having a smart speaker in your home that’s always listening?

Using mobile ethnography and surveys, I am looking at how privacy and convenience are being exchanged. I aim to understand what, if anything, has changed since GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation). How do the themes of privacy and convenience affect how people interact with their AI smart speakers?

Speaking

I speak to a range of audiences including technologists, academics and the general public.

List of previous talks

I particularly enjoy speaking about:

  • AI smart speakers and smart homes
  • AI ethics and privacy
  • Responsible technology

Get in touch