Political Economy of Sex Tech

PROJECT SUMMARY

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Political Economy of Sex Tech

Focus Area(s): News & Media
Research Program(s): Data, Institutions 

Smart sex technologies and networked apps are being used in sex and relationship education, to enhance sexual wellness and to improve sexual and reproductive health. To do so, they collect and process substantial amounts of intimate data. This project examines the political economy of ‘sex tech’ in order to identify how sexual technologies are being governed at scale, how sexual data is being collected, stored, shared and monetised, and how the material benefits of sex tech may be more equitably distributed.

It will provide empirical grounding to enrich scholarship on ethical data governance, predictive profiling and accountability of smart technologies.

RESEARCHERS

Zahra Stardust profile picture

Dr Zahra Stardust

Lead Investigator

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Automating safety: developing better data models to help foster prosocial platforms

PROJECT SUMMARY

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Automating safety: developing better data models to help foster prosocial platforms

Focus Area(s): News & Media
Research Program: Data

This project identifies how misunderstandings of harm and safety flow into flawed data logics and ineffective automated digital platform responses. To date, platforms have presented the principal unit of harm as individual pieces of content or media objects.

Based on this assumption, platforms’ responses to harm have primarily focused on moderating discrete pieces of content.

RESEARCHERS

ADM+S Associate Director Jean Burgess

Prof Jean Burgess

Lead Investigator

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ADM+S Chief Investigator Nic Suzor

Prof Nic Suzor

Chief Investigator

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Dr Rosalie Gillett

Associate Investigator

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ADM+S professional staff Abdul Obeid

Abdul Obeid

Data Engineer

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Automated Content Regulation (disinformation and political bias)

PROJECT SUMMARY

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Automated Content Regulation (disinformation and political bias)

Focus Area(s): News & Media
Research Program: Data

This project will evaluate the moderation of social media content, which has become radically more reliant on machine learning classifiers during the Covid-19 pandemic. We examine moderation at this time through two case studies, which aim to: 1. Test allegations of political bias in the removal of tweets, and 2.

Identify coordinated bot activity involved in spreading misinformation and the moderation responses of platforms.Ultimately, this project will provide new knowledge about particular case studies, import insights into trends across cases and time, and new methodological techniques for assessing automated content moderation on social media platforms.

RESEARCHERS

ADM+S Chief Investigator Nic Suzor

Prof Nic Suzor

Lead Investigator

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ADM+S Associate Director Jean Burgess

Prof Jean Burgess

Chief Investigator

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ADM+S Chief Investigator Andrew Kenyon

Prof Andrew Kenyon

Chief Investigator

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ADM+S Investigator Timothy Graham

Dr Timothy Graham

Associate Investigator

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PARTNERS

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American University

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Responsible health consumer data analysis and ADM

PROJECT SUMMARY

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Responsible health consumer data analysis and ADM

Focus Area: Health
Research Program: Data

Health care service providers are increasingly seeking to use advanced data analytics and automated decision making to improving services and for predictive insights. By better understanding the everyday experiences of people living with mental ill-health, for example, services can improve the allocation of resources and enhance health outcomes. Accessing health consumer voices and experiences directly through social data sets (such as online health forums) can have an important impact on optimising decision making, but also raises ethical issues and data management and analysis challenges.

Drawing on cutting edge practices in text data mining and NLP analysis, this project develops a model for ethical and responsible mental health consumer data analysis. It operationalises data partnerships and implements data analysis to improve healthcare work, with a focus on community mental health support, and ethical, inclusive and participatory practices.

RESEARCHERS

ADM+S Chief Investigator Anthony McCosker

Prof Anthony McCosker

Lead Investigator

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ADM+S Investigator Kath Albury

Prof Kath Albury

Associate Investigator

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Daniel Angus

Prof Dan Angus

Associate Investigator

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Jane Farmer

Prof Jane Farmer

Associate Investigator

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Peter Kamstra

Dr Peter Kamstra

Associate Investigator

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Yong-Bin Kang

Dr Yong-Bin Kang

Research Fellow

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PARTNERS

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Beyond Blue

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Infoxchange

Infoxchange

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Reach Out

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SANE Australia

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Mapping the Public Conversation on ADM

PROJECT SUMMARY

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Mapping the Public Conversation on ADM

Focus Area(s): News & Media
Research Program: Data

The project maps the extent, qualities and diversity of conversations about automation and ADM in Australia and globally, using key social media data sources including Twitter and Facebook to collect posts and a wide range of media articles.

We bring together social media analytics with advanced computational text analysis and social network analysis to monitor and analyse the content, themes, platforms and actors involved in the mediated public conversation around ADM in Australia and beyond.

RESEARCHERS

ADM+S Associate Director Jean Burgess

Prof Jean Burgess

Lead Investigator

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Axel Bruns

Prof Axel Bruns

Chief Investigator

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Daniel Angus

Prof Dan Angus

Associate Investigator

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Ariadna Matamoros Fernandez profile picture

Dr Ariadna Matamoros-Fernández

Associate Investigator

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ADM+S professional staff Abdul Obeid

Abdul Obeid

Data Engineer

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Hybrid digital methods for detecting and managing problematic automated agents in social media

PROJECT SUMMARY

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Hybrid digital methods for detecting and managing problematic automated agents in social media

Focus Area(s): News & Media
Research Program: Data

Automated agents, known as bots are widely used on the internet to run automated tasks. Whilst some bots are designed to perform beneficial activities, others are created for malicious purposes. The inauthentic coordination of bot activities is problematic and threatens to undermine online environments. We have very little understanding of how bots and high-volume accounts are policed and moderated by users themselves, and what drives people to create bots (both beneficial and malicious).

This project brings together qualitative domain expertise in digital media and platform studies with data science and machine learning to evaluate and improve attempts to detect and deal with problematic automated agents (bots) in social media. It addresses the question of how bots are moderated and perceived by the community, across platforms Twitter and Reddit.

This project provides insights about the dynamics and ethical aspects of large-scale bot activity, through a controversy analysis of the “anus fungi” phenomenon. It also studies the motivations for bot creators and the different kinds of social roles that bots have in the online information ecosystem and will deliver validated methods and software tools to help track disinformation and coordinated inauthentic behaviour.

RESEARCHERS

ADM+S Investigator Timothy Graham

Dr Timothy Graham

Lead Investigator

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Axel Bruns

Prof Axel Bruns

Chief Investigator

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ADM+S Associate Director Jean Burgess

Prof Jean Burgess

Chief Investigator

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ADM+S Chief Investigator Nic Suzor

Prof Nicolas Suzor

Chief Investigator

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Daniel Angus

Prof Dan Angus

Associate Investigator

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Quantifying and Measuring Bias and Engagement

PROJECT SUMMARY

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Quantifying and Measuring Bias and Engagement

Focus Area(s): News & Media, Health
Research Program: Machines, Data

Automated decision making systems and machines – including search engines, intelligent assistants, and recommender systems – are designed, evaluated, and optimised by defining frameworks that model the users who are going to interact with them. These models are typically a simplified representation of users (e.g., using the relevance of items delivered to the user as a surrogate for system quality) to operationalise the development process of such systems. A grand open challenge is to make these frameworks more complete, by including new aspects such as fairness, that are as important as the traditional definitions of quality, to inform the design, evaluation and optimisation of such systems.

Recent developments in machine learning and information access communities attempt to define fairness-aware metrics to incorporate into these frameworks. However, there are a number of research questions related to quantifying and measuring bias and engagement that remain unexplored:

  • Is it possible to measure bias by observing users interacting with search engines, recommender systems, or intelligent assistants?
  • How do users perceive fairness, bias and trust? How can these perceptions be measured effectively?
  • To what extent can sensors in wearable devices and interaction logging (e.g., CTR, app swipes, notification dismissal, etc) inform the measurement of bias and engagement?
  • Are the implicit signals captured from sensors and interaction logs correlated with explicit human ratings w.r.t. bias and engagement?

The research aims to address the research questions above by focusing on information access systems that involve automated decision-making components. This is the case for search engines, intelligent assistants, and recommender systems. The methodologies considered to address these questions include lab user studies (e.g., Wizard of Oz experiments with intelligent assistants), and the use of crowdsourcing platforms (e.g., Amazon Mechanical Turk). The data collection processes include: logging human-system interactions; sensor data collected using wearable devices; and questionnaires.

RESEARCHERS

ADM+S Investigator Damiano Spina

Dr Damiano Spina

Lead Investigator

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ADM+S Chief Investigator Anthony McCosker

Assoc Prof Anthony McCosker

Chief Investigator

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Sarah Pink

Prof Sarah Pink

Chief Investigator

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ADM+S Chief Investigator Mark Sanderson

Prof Mark Sanderson

Chief Investigator

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ADM+S Associate Investigator Jenny Kennedy

Dr Jenny Kennedy

Associate Investigator

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ADM+S Chief Investigator Falk Scholer

Prof Falk Scholer

Associate Investigator

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ADM+S Investigator Flora Salim

Prof Flora Salim

Associate Investigator

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Danula Hettiachchi

Dr Danula Hettiachchi

Research Fellow

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PARTNERS

ABC logo

Australian Broadcasting Corporation

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AlgorithmWatch Logo

Algorithm Watch (Germany)

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Bendigo Hospital

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Google Australia

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RMIT ABC Fact Check

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The Coronavirus Impact

PROJECT SUMMARY

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The Coronavirus Impact

Focus Area(s): All
Research Program: Data

Given the role that automated systems are playing in the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, from symptom tracking to the dissemination of (mis-) information, this project contributes to a range of related initiatives across the Centre that respond to the exigencies of the pandemic. The focus of this project will be on issues related to automated data collection, sorting, and response in pandemic contexts, and beyond.

As sensor systems are built out and repurposed to collect data in response to the pandemic, including workplace monitoring, contact tracing, or social distancing compliance, new data streams are being generated which are likely to endure beyond the pandemic for a range of uses and raises a host of issues.

RESEARCHERS

Mark Andrejevic

Prof Mark Andrejevic

Lead Investigator

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ADM+S Chief Investigator Megan Richardson

Prof Megan Richardson

Chief Investigator

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ADM+S Chief Investigator Nic Suzor

Prof Nicolas Suzor

Chief Investigator

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Julian Thomas

Prof Julian Thomas

Chief Investigator

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Kimberlee Weatherall

Prof Kimberlee Weatherall

Chief Investigator

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ADM+S Associate Investigator Jake Goldenfein

Dr Jake Goldenfein

Associate Investigator

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ADM+S Chief Investigator Andrew Kenyon

Prof Andrew Kenyon

Associate Investigator

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ADM+S Investigator Ellie Rennie

Prof Ellie Rennie

Associate Investigator

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Andrew Roberts

Prof Andrew Roberts

Associate Investigator

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ADM+S Investigator Robert Sparrow

Prof Robert Sparrow

Associate Investigator

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ADM+S Investigator Haiqing Yu

Assoc Prof Haiqing Yu

Associate Investigator

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ADM+S Investigator Ivana Jurko

Ivana Jurko

Partner Investigator

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ADM+S Investigator Frank Pasquale

Prof Frank Pasquale

Partner Investigator

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PARTNERS

Australian Red Cross Logo

Australian Red Cross

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Brooklyn Law School logo

Brooklyn Law School

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Data and Society logo

Data & Society Research Institute (US)

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OVIC Logo

Victorian Information Commissioner

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When All Data is Health Data

PROJECT SUMMARY

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When All Data is Health Data

Focus Area(s): Health
Research Program: Data

Thanks to the development of automated, passive, sensor systems with algorithmic forms of processing and machine learning, a growing range of data has become relevant to processes of diagnosis and care. Google, for example, envisions that smart speakers will one day be able to diagnose the onset of Alzheimer’s before individuals or caregivers notice symptoms, and the same is true for a variety of illnesses and conditions ranging from the flu to depression. By the same token, researchers have scraped publicly available social media posts to search for patterns that correlate online behaviour with medical conditions. As tech companies move further into the health care sector, all kinds of data can do double duty as health data in ways that may have important benefits, but also raise issues of privacy and data protection.

This project considers the ethical issues raised by new streams of health data, including how best to regulate the use of the data, its storage, and the infrastructures that collect it. It will also explore the ethical and practical issues raised by emerging forms of automated diagnostics and develop recommendations for regulating the data collection infrastructure and the health uses that derive from ubiquitous data collection.

RESEARCHERS

Mark Andrejevic

Prof Mark Andrejevic

Lead Investigator

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ADM+S Chief Investigator Anthony McCosker

Assoc Prof Anthony McCosker

Chief Investigator

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ADM+S Chief Investigator Megan Richardson

Prof Megan Richardson

Chief Investigator

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ADM+S Investigator Kath Albury

Prof Kath Albury

Associate Investigator

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ADM+S Associate Investigator Jake Goldenfein

Dr Jake Goldenfein

Associate Investigator

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ADM+S Investigator Flora Salim

Prof Flora Salim

Associate Investigator

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ADM+S Investigator Robert Sparrow

Prof Robert Sparrow

Associate Investigator

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ADM+S Investigator Damiano Spina

Dr Damiano Spina

Associate Investigator

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ADM+S Investigator Frank Pasquale

Prof Frank Pasquale

Partner Investigator

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PARTNERS

Australian Red Cross Logo

Australian Red Cross

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OVIC Logo

Victorian Information Commissioner

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Data mapping and ADM to advance humanitarian action and preparedness

PROJECT SUMMARY

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Data mapping and ADM to advance humanitarian action and preparedness

Focus Area(s): Social Services, News & Media
Research Program: Data

Humanitarian organisations and other NGOs are undergoing significant digital transformation. In a complicated digital media environment, new analytics capabilities can improve the role and effectiveness of organisations like Australian Red Cross in building community resilience, expanding volunteer networks, and informing rapid response. New practices for ethically sharing and analysing social media activity and public and open datasets can be combined with internal organisational data analysis to produce intelligent responses and predictive models.

This project aims to operationalise new data partnerships and implement data analysis to improve humanitarian sector work. It contributes to developing new techniques for improving data-driven mapping of community strengths, knowledge and resilience. The work will improve advocacy and preparedness and enhance Red Cross’s data analytics capability.

RESEARCHERS

ADM+S Chief Investigator Anthony McCosker

Assoc Prof Anthony McCosker

Lead Investigator

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ADM+S Investigator Kath Albury

Prof Kath Albury

Associate Investigator

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Daniel Angus

Prof Dan Angus

Associate Investigator

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ADM+S Investigator Rowan Wilken

Assoc Prof Rowan Wilken

Associate Investigator

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ADM+S Investigator Ivana Jurko

Ivana Jurko

Partner Investigator

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Christian Stenta

Christian Stenta

Partner Investigator

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Yong-Bin Kang

Dr Yong-Bin Kang

Research Fellow

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PARTNERS

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Australian Red
Cross

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Everyday Data Cultures

PROJECT SUMMARY

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Everyday Data Cultures

Focus Area(s): All
Research Program: Data

This project explores the role of everyday data practices and literacies in automated decision-making. The project develops our new conceptual framework of everyday data cultures, which is based on the cultural studies of everyday life. The project will produce a major monograph (forthcoming with Polity Press in 2022).

To test and further elaborate this framework in real-world settings, we undertake a number of additional empirical case studies using a combination of hybrid digital and qualitative methods. The project provides a framework for integrating everyday community experience into data projects in a variety of sectors.

RESEARCHERS

ADM+S Associate Director Jean Burgess

Prof Jean Burgess

Lead Investigator

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ADM+S Chief Investigator Anthony McCosker

Assoc Prof Anthony McCosker

Chief Investigator

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ADM+S Investigator Rowan Wilken

Assoc Prof Rowan Wilken

Associate Investigator

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ADM+S Investigator Kath Albury

Prof Kath Albury

Associate Investigator

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Mapping ADM Across Sectors

PROJECT SUMMARY

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Mapping ADM Across Sectors

Focus Area(s): All
Research Program(s): All

Focussing on the historical and conceptual approaches to the relationship between data and automated decision-making (ADM) systems, this project situates key issues in historical context and canvasses the range of theoretical approaches brought to bear on describing ADM and assessing the social issues, concerns, and potentials it invokes.

Given the historical focus on data as a locus of concern (with respect to ownership, privacy, accuracy, bias, security, accountability), the data contribution focusses on issue mapping across sectors. The project compliments and draws on the work being done in other research programs and areas to discern common themes with respect to the issues raised by the collection, storage, and use of data for ADM across object domains.

RESEARCHERS

Mark Andrejevic

Prof Mark Andrejevic

Lead Investigator

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ADM+S Chief Investigator Megan Richardson

Prof Megan Richardson

Chief Investigator

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Julian Thomas

Prof Julian Thomas

Chief Investigator

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ADM+S Chief Investigator Heather Horst

Prof Heather Horst

Chief Investigator

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Deborah Lupton

Prof Deborah Lupton

Chief Investigator

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ADM+S Investigator Rowan Wilken

Assoc Prof Rowan Wilken

Associate Investigator

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Paul Henman

Prof Paul Henman

Chief Investigator

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ADM+S Chief Investigator Mark Sanderson

Prof Mark Sanderson

Chief Investigator

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ADM+S Chief Investigator Jason Potts

Prof Jason Potts

Chief Investigator

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Data Ethics, Rights, and Markets

PROJECT SUMMARY

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Data Ethics, Rights, and Markets

Focus Area(s): All
Research Program: Data

The goal of this project is to contribute to the theoretical “backbone” of the ADM+S Centre and help synthesise the findings from projects in different focus areas and research programs through the creation of an historically informed theoretical overview to the social issues associated with the rise of automated decision-making (ADM).

The project supplements the descriptive mapping project (typologies and taxonomies of ADM) with an issue mapping project that connects directly with the core social concerns of the Centre: fairness, ethics, inclusion, and effectiveness.

RESEARCHERS

Julian Thomas

Prof Julian Thomas

Lead Investigator

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ADM+S Associate Director Jean Burgess

Prof Jean Burgess

Chief Investigator

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Axel Bruns, Chief Investigator with the ADM+S Centre

Prof Axel Bruns

Chief Investigator

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Paul Henman

Prof Paul Henman

Chief Investigator

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ADM+S Chief Investigator Dan Hunter

Prof Dan Hunter

Chief Investigator

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ADM+S Chief Investigator Andrew Kenyon

Prof Andrew Kenyon

Associate Investigator

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ADM+S Chief Investigator Anthony McCosker

Assoc Prof Anthony McCosker

Chief Investigator

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ADM+S Investigator Christine Parker

Prof Christine Parker

Chief Investigator

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Sarah Pink

Prof Sarah Pink

Chief Investigator

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ADM+S Chief Investigator Megan Richardson

Prof Megan Richardson

Chief Investigator

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ADM+S Chief Investigator Mark Sanderson

Prof Mark Sanderson

Chief Investigator

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Kimberlee Weatherall

Prof Kimberlee Weatherall

Chief Investigator

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ADM+S Associate Investigator Jake Goldenfein

Dr Jake Goldenfein

Associate Investigator

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ADM+S Investigator Ivana Jurko

Ivana Jurko

Partner Investigator

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PARTNERS

Australian Red Cross Logo

Australian Red Cross

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Data and Society logo

Data & Society Research Institute (US)

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OVIC Logo

Victorian Information Commissioner

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Automated Content Regulation (Sexuality Education and Health Information)

PROJECT SUMMARY

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Automated Content Regulation (Sexuality Education and Health Information)

Focus Area(s): Health
Research Program: Data

Sexual health organisations in Australia and internationally have expressed frustration regarding the impact of automated platform regulation on their ability to conduct social marketing and sexual health promotion campaigns (and research recruitment) on social media platforms. To address this issue, this project brings together a number of impacted organisations and institutions globally to reveal impacts and develop solutions.

This project will examine how government agencies understand content regulation, how NGOs and health promotion and advocacy organisations experience the implementation of content regulation across the platforms on which they operate, and how platform regulators and moderators might better distinguish between education and information content, and other forms of sexual texts and imagery.

By addressing these issues, this case study will contribute to informing government, institutional and platform policies, and enable affected groups to better voice their stories and achieve redress.

RESEARCHERS

ADM+S Investigator Kath Albury

Prof Kath Albury

Lead Investigator

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ADM+S Chief Investigator Anthony McCosker

Assoc Prof Anthony McCosker

Chief Investigator

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ADM+S Chief Investigator Nic Suzor

Prof Nicolas Suzor

Chief Investigator

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Zahra Stardust profile picture

Dr Zahra Stardust

Research Fellow

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Sujith Kumar

Sujith Kumar

Research Assistant

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Joanna Williams

Joanna Williams

PhD Student

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COLLABORATORS AND PROJECT ADVISORS

  • Sally Beadle
    Programme Specialist, UNESCO
  • Pauline Oosterhof
    Research Fellow, Institute of Development Studies (UK)
  • Susie Jolly
    Independent Scholar and Associate, Institute of Development Studies (UK)

Data capacity and collaboration for ADM in the community sector

PROJECT SUMMARY

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Data capacity and collaboration for ADM in the community sector

Focus Area(s): Social Services
Research Program: Data

This project takes an innovative approach to addressing challenges in data collaboration and developing data capability across the not-for-profit (NFP) sector. Through participatory methods, it integrates technical approaches to responsible data management in computer science, legal approaches to data sharing, and social science approaches to data capability building and ‘data and AI for social good’.

The project works toward a replicable framework for building capacity (expertise, literacy, data partnerships and data governance) to unlock the social value and impact of advanced data analytics, AI and ADM across the not-for-profit sector. The aim is to develop models for responsible data practices suitable for addressing the goals and challenges faced by the NFP sector, and assess and advance data literacy and expertise to improve ADM outcomes.

RESEARCHERS

ADM+S Chief Investigator Anthony McCosker

Assoc Prof Anthony McCosker

Lead Investigator

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Kimberlee Weatherall

Prof Kimberlee Weatherall

Chief Investigator

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ADM+S Investigator Kath Albury

Prof Kath Albury

Associate Investigator

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Jane Farmer

Prof Jane Farmer

Associate Investigator

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ADM+S Associate Investigator Jake Goldenfein

Dr Jake Goldenfein

Associate Investigator

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ADM+S Investigator Julia Stoyanovich

Assistant Prof Julia Stoyanovich

Partner Investigator

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Xiaofang Yao

Dr Xiaofang Yao

Research Fellow

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PARTNERS

Infoxchange

Infoxchange

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Dark Ads Transparency Project

PROJECT SUMMARY

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Dark Ads Transparency Project

Focus Area(s): News & Media
Research Program: Data

The use of custom targeted advertising, known as ‘dark ads’ poses a host of potential social harms, from the re-introduction of historical forms of discriminating (targeting job or housing ads by race, for example, or job ads by race or gender, and so on); to the propagation of racist or gender stereotyping, to the spread of false and harmful information. The advertising environment is fundamentally transformed by the rise of dark ads, which continue the trend away from mass advertising, which was available to large audiences and thus subject to public scrutiny.

Our researchers have partnered with AlgorithmWatch to develop novel approaches for addressing the challenges posed by ‘dark ads’. This project aims to develop strategies for addressing the potential harms posed by ‘dark ads’ and provide accountability and transparency mechanisms for targeted advertising. This project will deliver modelling of real-world strategies for providing visibility into how targeting takes place and what its results are and develop recommendations for regulatory response to online ad targeting.

RESEARCHERS

Mark Andrejevic

Prof Mark Andrejevic

Lead Investigator

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ADM+S Associate Director Jean Burgess

Prof Jean Burgess

Chief Investigator

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Daniel Angus

Prof Daniel Angus

Associate Investigator

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ADM+S Investigator Timothy Graham

Dr Timothy Graham

Associate Investigator

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PARTNERS

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Australian Broadcasting Corporation

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Civic Automated Decision-Making

PROJECT SUMMARY

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Civic Automated Decision-Making

Focus Area(s): All
Research Program: Data

This project supplements work on ethical automated decision-making (ADM) with a focus on civic commitments and concerns. It adds a consideration of politics and power to ethical approaches in the area of ADM and civic life.

Such an approach adds an additional layer to the question of whether ADM processes are ethical by considering how they promote civic life and democracy.

RESEARCHERS

Mark Andrejevic

Prof Mark Andrejevic

Lead Investigator

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Axel Bruns, Chief Investigator with the ADM+S Centre

Prof Axel Bruns

Chief Investigator

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ADM+S Associate Director Jean Burgess

Prof Jean Burgess

Chief Investigator

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ADM+S Chief Investigator Megan Richardson

Prof Megan Richardson

Chief Investigator

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ADM+S Chief Investigator Nic Suzor

Prof Nicolas Suzor

Chief Investigator

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Julian Thomas

Prof Julian Thomas

Chief Investigator

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Kimberlee Weatherall

Prof Kimberlee Weatherall

Chief Investigator

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ADM+S Associate Investigator Jake Goldenfein

Dr Jake Goldenfein

Associate Investigator

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ADM+S Chief Investigator Andrew Kenyon

Prof Andrew Kenyon

Associate Investigator

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Andrew Roberts

Prof Andrew Roberts

Associate Investigator

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ADM+S Investigator Robert Sparrow

Prof Robert Sparrow

Associate Investigator

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ADM+S Investigator Frank Pasquale

Prof Frank Pasquale

Partner Investigator

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ADM+S Investigator Karen Yeung

Prof Karen Yeung

Partner Investigator

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PARTNERS

Brooklyn Law School logo

Brooklyn Law School

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Data and Society logo

Data & Society Research Institute (US)

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OVIC Logo

Victorian Information Commissioner

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Infrastructures, ADM and sovereign capability

PROJECT SUMMARY

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Infrastructures, ADM and sovereign capability

Focus Area(s): News and Media
Research Program: Data

This project examines the relationship between telecommunications infrastructure and automated decision-making (ADM) as new infrastructures, such as 5G and Wi-Fi 6, support the intensification of ADM. A key focus is on the collection and distribution of data that shapes the deployment and use of ADM in Australia and China.

It also investigates how China came to be one of the dominant suppliers of critical ADM infrastructure and the strategic implications of this on supply chains and sovereign capabilities.

RESEARCHERS

James Meese profile picture

Dr James Meese

Lead Investigator

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ADM+S Investigator Rowan Wilken

Assoc Prof Rowan Wilken

Chief Investigator

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ADM+S Investigator Haiqing Yu

Assoc Prof Haiqing Yu

Associate Investigator

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Assessing the Personalisation of Search Results from Major Recommendation Engines

PROJECT SUMMARY

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Assessing the Personalisation of Search Results from Major Recommendation Engines

Focus Area(s): News and Media
Research Program: Data

There is a lot of speculation about the impact that search engines have on the information we encounter. Search engine personalisation may be influencing individuals’ search results, and thereby shape what they know of the world. This may affect their personal decisions, and our collective decisions as a society – from how we spend our money or who we vote for to our attitudes on critical issues such as the safety of COVID-19 vaccines.

This research aims to assess the extent to which search results are personalised, by various leading search engines and their algorithms, based on the profiles established by those search engines for their different users. It compiles and analyses the search recommendations encountered by a wide range of genuine users across prominent digital media platforms, for a variety of generic and specific topics, and over a period of time.

This research advances earlier experimental work by our partner organisation AlgorithmWatch, using ‘data donation’ methods via browser plugins and other tools, to involve the public in the research. This research evaluates the potential social impacts of search personalisation, including its potential for creating ‘filter bubbles’, promoting misinformation and disinformation or increasing political polarisation. Findings from this project will inform policymakers, educators, and the platforms themselves to mitigate any negative effects of information shaping online.

PARTICIPATE

Become a citizen scientist and join the Australian Search Experience project

When you use a search engine, do you see the same results as your colleagues, friends, or family do? If not, why is that? Are search results personalised especially for you? If so, what are the criteria? Which topics do search engines suggest to you and other users?

We want to find out. With your help.

To participate in this project visit The Australian Search Experience webpage

RESEARCHERS

Axel Bruns, Chief Investigator with the ADM+S Centre

Prof Axel Bruns

Lead Investigator

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Mark Andrejevic

Prof Mark Andrejevic

Chief Investigator

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ADM+S Associate Director Jean Burgess

Prof Jean Burgess

Chief Investigator

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ADM+S Chief Investigator Nic Suzor

Prof Nicolas Suzor

Chief Investigator

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Kimberlee Weatherall

Prof Kimberlee Weatherall

Chief Investigator

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Daniel Angus

Prof Dan Angus

Associate Investigator

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ADM+S Investigator Timothy Graham

Dr Timothy Graham

Associate Investigator

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Ariadna Matamoros Fernandez profile picture

Dr Ariadna Matamoros-Fernández

Associate Investigator

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ADM+S Investigator James Meese

Dr James Meese

Associate Investigator

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ADM+S Chief Investigator Falk Scholer

Prof Falk Scholer

Associate Investigator

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ADM+S Investigator Damiano Spina

Dr Damiano Spina

Associate Investigator

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