Director's message
Dear Friends
As we come to the end of a decade we can see the foresight of our founder donor Dame Stephanie Shirley and first acting Director Andrew Graham in founding the OII. The internet has transformed so much of our lives, for example the way we work, the way we are entertained and the way we interact with our loved ones and the way we access our rights as citizens.
On this theme, September saw the launch of the OxIS report on Internet use in Britain and perceived threats to privacy online. The first for six years, the report reveals a rapid increase in the use of the internet for commercial, banking and entertainment purposes. It also highlights the ‘digital divide’ between those who use the internet and those who do not, which may lead to people missing out on access to key services.
The Oxford Technology and Elections Commission, OxTEC convened experts on politics, technology, security and human rights to look at what are trusted guidelines for managing an election. A series of papers have been issued culminating with a report setting out recommendations aimed at securing the information infrastructure of elections and creating a trusted environment for the democratic use of technology.
Our London Lecture this Michaelmas Term featured Professor Andrew Przybylski, presenting his latest research on the myths and misconceptions around screen time.
We have seen many individual success stories. Professor Sandra Wachter was profiled in Business Insider as one of UK Tech 100: the 100 most influential people shaping British technology in 2019 and profiled in the FT for her work exploring structural bias in online advertising. Professor Gina Neff was listed as one of 30 outstanding academics to receive a British Academy mid-career fellowship for her project on the possible futures for work. In November she helped launch a global call to action on women and AI, calling on companies to commit to a gender-inclusive AI ecosystem and to create a shared repository of best practice. Professor Vili Lehdonvirta played a key role in the European Commission’s report on the impact of digital transformation on EU Labour Markets.
Next term’s OII London lecture in January will be delivered by Professor Victoria Nash, Deputy Director of the OII, on the topic of protecting children in the era of the smart home. I hope to see you there.
To keep in touch with the OII community in Oxford please subscribe to our newsletter for the latest updates, news and information about events and other activities.
In the meantime, I wish you all safe travels ahead of the holiday season and that you enjoy some well-deserved downtime. Merry Christmas a very Happy New Year!
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Phil
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In this issue...
- Latest News
- Michaelmas keynote lectures
- Congratulations
- Bookshelf
- Media highlights
- In Other News
- Welcomes and Farewells
- Forthcoming events
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New research on Emerging Technologies
The OII is undertaking an exciting new research programme coordinated by Professor Sandra Wachter, Dr Brent Mittelstadt and Dr Chris Russell, exploring the Governance of Emerging Technologies (GET). The programme will address essential challenges posed by emerging technologies, exploring issues such as data protection and inferential analytics, algorithmic bias, fairness, diversity and non-discrimination as well as explainable and accountable AI. Find out more about the new programme here.
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