Tag Archives: digital personhood

Appointment as Chair of the Research Councils UK Digital Economy Theme Programme Advisory Board

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I have recently been appointed Chair of the Research Councils UK Digital Economy (DE) Theme Programme Advisory Board (PAB). I take over the role from Brian Collins, Professor of Engineering Policy and Director of the International Centre for Infrastructure Futures at University College London.

My appointment builds on previous work that I have conducted for the DE Theme. This includes: serving on the 12-person panel that conducted the 2012 impact review of the DE Theme investment; involvement in an additional stream of DE research undertaken under the banner of “digital personhood” (I helped identify the scope of the investment and served as a mentor at the sandpit meeting where project ideas were germinated); and reviewing grant proposals and other panel work. I was first appointed a member of the PAB in 2014.

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The Circle by Dave Eggers: book review

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Over Easter I read The Circle by Dave Eggers. I wouldn’t normally blog about my recreational reading, but there is such a strong overlap between the themes of the novel and my research and teaching interests that I have decided to post my review here.

The Circle by Dave Eggers

The Circle by Dave Eggers

The tale’s main setting is the Silicon Valley campus of a tech company in the not too distant future. The Circle has already gobbled up several other familiar enterprises and, as such, may be conceived as a fictional amalgamation of companies such as Google, Facebook, Amazon, and Twitter. Its earnest workforce is involved in numerous innovative projects to make the world a “better” place where communities are safe, and a genuine democracy works for the good of all. Circle technologists work on a bewilderingly wide range of innovations that include, for example, systems to eradicate criminal dangers such as child abduction and to guard against political corruption.

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Appointment to the RCUK Digital Economy theme Programme Advisory Board

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Digital Economy logoThe Research Councils UK Digital Economy (DE) theme supports research to realise the transformational impact of digital technologies on aspects of community life, cultural experiences, future society, and the economy.

Over the past couple of years I have enjoyed spending time with staff from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) on work associated with the DE theme. This all started two years ago when I was invited to join the 12-person panel that conducted the 2012 impact review of the DE Theme investment. Soon afterwards I became involved in an additional stream of DE research undertaken under the banner of “digital personhood”: I helped identify the scope of the investment; served as a mentor at the sandpit meeting where project ideas were germinated; and recently participated at the first digital personhood network meeting. I have also been involved in reviewing grant proposals and panel work for the DE theme.

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Digital Personhood network: review of first meeting, 6-7 March 2014

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Digital Economy logoIn 2012 I was a member of the 12-person panel that reviewed the £130 million investment in Research Councils UK’s Digital Economy (DE) programme. The main remit of the panel was to consider the full range of DE projects funded to date. These ranged from doctoral studies based across UK universities, to the large collections of projects hosted at the three DE hubs: (1) Horizon at the University of Nottingham; (2) dot.rural at the University of Aberdeen; and (3) the social inclusion through the digital economy (SiDE) projects at the Universities of Newcastle and Dundee. The review panel’s findings are available in its report hosted on the EPSRC web site.

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EPSRC Digital Personhood sandpit week

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EPSRC logo Engineering and Physical Science Research Council logoLast week I served as a mentor for the Engineering and Physical Science Research Council in Cheshire at a one-week sandpit event (a form of interactive workshop, and one that appears to have been misunderstood by Private Eye, as can be seen below). My fellow mentors were Professor Richard Harper of Microsoft Research in Cambridge, Professor Bruce Brown of the University of Brighton, and Professor Pete Edwards of the University of Aberdeen. Pete also served as the sandpit director. The aim of the sandpit was to stimulate thinking in promising new areas of the digital economy (DE) research theme.

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