My current and biggest project is my PhD work, which is explained below. I have also linked work completed with a Carnegie-funded research think tank (WT2T) and a project at the University of Glasgow entitled “Queer Digital Lives“.
PhD Project:
Datafying the Community: Local Experiences of Data Governance and Surveillance in East London
The aim of this project is to create fun, creative, and accessible workshops that help families explore topics like data, privacy, AI and digital technologies together. My hope is that these sessions are not only enjoyable, but also the starting point for future programmes and community conversations about digital safety and critical data literacy in Hackney.
I am documenting how daily life and routines are changing under systems of digitalisation and how our behaviours, interests, and networks are getting distilled into datapoints that are sold and sent away from us.
I am also prototyping the workshops to learn about their effectiveness in generating sustainable, critical digital literacy. I want to understand whether these activities are engaging, relevant, and useful for families, and how they could be improved.
The ideas, conversations and feedback shared during these workshops are helping shape several outcomes, including:
- a doctoral dissertation;
- a recommendations report for Hackney Council;
- a free, accessible workbook so these workshops can be shared and run by others; and
- future family learning opportunities and community programmes around critical data literacy and digital safety