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Director's message

Dear Friends

I reflect back on an academic year in which I am prouder than ever of the OII community. I’m proud of the resilience and determination of our students and colleagues, and I’m proud of the consistently high quality of research and teaching under these new circumstances.
 
We have achieved a significant and complex organisational pivot, both in the content and method of our delivery.
 
On research, we have looked at the spread of Covid-19 misinformation, the plight of gig economy workers across the globe, the impact of online-only education on our young people, the ethics of contact tracing apps, and so much more.

The way we teach our students and how we share our work with the outside world has had to change. I have been impressed at how both students and faculty have embraced remote learning, and encouraged that we’re reaching new audiences with our online events.
 
We have seen in recent weeks the passion and strength of feeling among the OII community across the University on the issue of racism. I look forward to working with those inside and outside the OII to advance our research agenda and practice on equity and justice over the coming weeks and months.

To keep in touch with the OII community please subscribe to our newsletter for the latest updates, news and information about events and other activities.  

I hope that we will be able to see each other in person soon. In the meantime, please do stay safe over the coming months, and have a wonderful summer.
Phil

In this issue...

  • Latest News
  • Trinity Term Events
  • Congratulations
  • Bookshelf 
  • Media highlights
  • In Other News
  • Welcomes and Farewells
  • Forthcoming events

Latest News
Planning for Michaelmas Term 2020
Like many other departments within the wider University we have transitioned to delivering our teaching content online.  We will continue to adapt our plans in line with Government advice about Covid-19.  We plan to be open in Michaelmas 2020 with rich, multimodal delivery mechanisms for classes, which will be a mix of smaller, socially distanced classes, supplemented with online learning methods, whlist at the same time continuing to operate within the guidelines set by the University and the Government.  Find out more about the University of Oxford operational plans for Michaelmas term.

New research programme on governance of platform economy
Professor Vili Lehdonvirta leads a new project looking at strategies and corporate governance for Europe's platform economy.  It aims to address the question of how platformization can be managed in order to achieve fairer results for European stakeholders. Find out more.

The Oxford Initiative on AIxSDGs
Professor Luciano Floridi and Senior Research Fellow, Dr Mariarosaria Taddeo, are collaborating with academics from the University of Oxford on this new initiative to determine how AI has been and can be used in the future to support and advance the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Find out more.
Trinity Term Events
Dr Bernie Hogan webinar: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Data
Dr Bernie Hogan, Senior Research Fellow at the OII, presents his webinar 'The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Data: Opportunities and Challenges for Data Science and Contact Tracing on SARS-CoV-2. He examines how data collected during the COVID-19 pandemic is being used.  Watch the webinar.
Professor Luciano Floridi webinar: the ethics of Covid-19 apps 
Professor Luciano Floridi, Professor of Philosophy and Ethics of Information at the OII and Director of the Digital Ethics Lab was joined by OII MSc student Jess Morley, policy lead at the University of Oxford DataLab, examining the ethics of Covid-19 tracking apps. Watch the webinar.
Professor Sandra Wachter webinar: Why Fairness Cannot Be Automated
Associate Professor Dr Sandra Wachter presented her webinar 'Why Fairness Cannot be Automated: Bridging the Gap between EU Non-Discrimination Law and AI. In her talk she examines EU law and jurisprudence of the European Court of Justice concerning non-discrimination.  Watch the webinar
 
Congratulations
Dr MariaRosaria Taddeo becomes Turing Ethics Fellow and joins NATO panel.
Taddeo was appointed as a Defence Science and Technology (Dtsl) Ethics Fellow at The Alan Turing Institute. Read the full story.  She was also invited to join the distinguished NATO Exploratory team on Operational Ethics.  Read the full story.
Professor Sandra Wachter AI research cited by European Digital Rights 
Congratulations to Associate Professor Dr Sandra Wachter whose work on ‘A Right to Reasonable inferences: Re-Thinking Data Protection Law in the Age of Big Data and AI’  was cited in the European Parliament report ‘How the GDPR changes the rules for scientific research’. Read the full report.
OII researchers collaborate with The Alan Turing Institute on new analysis tool
A team from the OII led by Professor Helen Margetts has contributed to The Alan Turing Institute’s Hate Speech: Measures & Counter-measures project, creating a new tool using deep learning to detect East Asian prejudice on social media.  Find out more.
New Visiting Policy Fellows
We welcomed a number of new Visiting Policy Fellows to Oxford this year, each with a wealth of experience from their respective fields in government, industry, academia and the media.  Sir Julian King, European Commissioner for Security Union until the UK’s departure from the EU and leading French academic Professor Hind Benbya of Montpellier Business School, joined us in March this year.   We also welcomed widely renowned human rights solicitor Ravi Naik and award-winning journalist David Tomchak as new members of the Fellowship programme. Find out more about the OII Visiting Policy Fellowship Programme.  We also welcomed Mohamed Amersi, Founder & CEO of Emergent Ventures, as a member of the OII Advisory Board. Find out more about the OII Advisory Board.
From the OII Bookshelf 
‘Lie Machines’ by Professor Philip N. Howard

OII Director Professor Philip N. Howard offers new insights into the world’s most damaging disinformation campaigns. Available to buy in hardback now. 
‘Digital Entrepreneurship in Africa’, by Dr Nicolas Friederici, Michael Wahome and Professor Mark Graham

The authors explore the hope and hype about African digital entrepreneurship, contrasted with the reality on the ground in local ecosystems.  Available to buy in paperback from 28 July 2020.
 

Media Highlights 
Here is some of our most exciting press coverage from the past few months.
Researchers turn to wearable tech in race to track Covid-19
Financial Times, 11 June 2020
Computer Weekly 1 June 2020
Are you sharing too much online?
BBC News, 11 May 2020
New York Times 7 May 2020
BBC News 6 May 2020
Daily Mirror 30 April 2020
Financial Times 23 April 2020
Reuters 17 April 2020
BBC News 14 April 2020
Wired 28 March 2020
In Other News 
OII Director gives evidence in Parliament
Professor Philip N. Howard, Director, Oxford Internet Institute, gave evidence to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) Select Committee, as part of a wider debate with experts and social media companies on how to tackle misinformation about covid-19.  Watch the full recording. 
Almost half administrative tasks in doctor’s surgeries could be automated.
With COVID-19 forcing the primary care sector to rethink priorities, a new report from Oxford academics suggests automation can transform doctors’ surgeries for the benefit of patients and staff.  Read the full report.
New report on impact of Covid-19 on gig economy workers
A new report from researchers at the Oxford Internet Institute, University of Manchester and the International Institute of Information Technology Bangalore, shone a light on the plight of the 50 million gig economy workers across the world since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. Read the full report.
Wikipedia traffic and darknet drug market data can shed light on opioid epidemic
OII academics, Dr Martin Dittus, Dr Joss Wright and Professor Mark Graham collaborated with The Alan Turing Institute and Warwick Business School on a new paper presenting a new way to predict drug use based on Wikipedia traffic and  high-frequency sales data from drug markets on the “dark web".  Find out more.
Setting mental health science priorities for the Covid-19 pandemic
Professor Andrew Przybylski collaborated with a panel of experts convened by the UK Academy of Medical Sciences and mental health research charity MQ, on new research exploring the psychological, social and neuroscience impacts of Covid-19.  Read the full paper published in The Lancet Psychiatry.
Spotlight on OII Deputy Director, Professor Victoria Nash
Catch up with Professor Nash talking to Nominet about her role at the OII, how she combines advising on tech policy with her academic commitments and her advice on digital parenting. Read the full interview.
 
Big Questions Podcast with OII Senior Research Fellow, Dr Grant Blank
Dr Grant Blank spoke to the team at Oxford Sparks about the challenges of making a successful Covid-19 tracing app and privacy concerns in light of the digital divide.  Listen to the full podcast.
Welcomes
Dr Alessio Bertolini
A warm welcome to Dr Alessio Bertolini as a Researcher on the FairWork project, investigating platform work in the UK and Germany. With a background in economics and policy studies, his area of expertise involves employment and welfare rights for non-standard workers from a comparative European perspective.

Dr Funda Ustek-Spilda
We’re pleased to welcome Dr Funda Ustek-Spilda as a postdoctoral researcher and project manager on the Fairwork project.  She has a background in sociology, with thematic focuses in labour, migration and gender.

Dr Johann Laux
We welcome Dr Johann Laux as a postdoctoral researcher, working with Professor Sandra Wachter on the governance of emerging technologies.

Niklas Johannes
We’re delighted to welcome Dr Niklas Johannes as a newly appointed postdoctoral researcher joining the Adolesecent Well-Being in the Digital Age programme, working with OII Director of Research, Professor Andrew Przybylski.
 
Matti Vuorre
A warm welcome to Dr Matti Vuorre, who also joins as a postdoctoral researcher, also working with OII Director of Research, Professor Andrew Przybylski, exploring adolescent wellbeing in the digital age.

Sophie Cray
We’re delighted to welcome Sophie Cray joining the OII as a Personal Assistant.  Sophie is the first point of contact for all matters relating to Professor Vili Lehdonvirta, Professor Sandra Wachter, Professor Andrew Przybylski and Dr Brent Mittelstadt.
 
Krista Baker
Welcome to Krista Baker who joins the OII as Personal Assistant to Professor Helen Margetts.
 
Farewells
Taha Yasseri
We say a fond farewell to Dr Taha Yasseri who leaves the OII to take up a new position as an Associate Professor of Sociology at University College, Dublin.   Dr Yasseri was an integral part of the OII’s research into human dynamics and collective behaviour and we wish him all the best for the future.

Silvia Milano
We say goodbye to researcher Silvia Milano who will take up a new position as a Research Fellow in the Future of Humanity Institute at the University of Oxford and wish her all the best for new role.
 
Upcoming Events
Monday 20 July 2020 13.00-14.00 BST - The Tech Response to Covid-19
In this webinar, we will host a conversation to explore the tech companies and industry responses to COVID-19. Find out more and register.

Wednesday 22 July 2020 13.00-14.00 BST - The Fairwork Foundation: Strategies for Improving Platform Work
In this webinar, Funda Ustek-Spilda and Srujana Katta will talk about the Fairwork Project, an action-research project at the Oxford Internet Institute.  Find out more and register.

We're also delighted to welcome to outstanding speakers in Michaelmas term:

Dr Meredith Broussard, data journalist and Associate Professor at the Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute of New York University will be speaking at the OII  in October 2020.  Look out for more details on the OII website in the coming months.

Professor Lisa Nakamura, an expert in digital media, race and gender and Professor in the Department of American Cultures at the University of Michigan will be giving a talk in November 2020.  Look out for more details on the OII website in the coming months.

Save the date: Virtual OII Alumni Gathering, 8 October 2020
Come join OII Director Professor Philip N. Howard and Deputy Director and Associate Professor Victoria Nash to get the latest news on the OII and network with fellow alumni.
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