Team Members
Prof. Julio Cesar Gaitan Bohorquez
Universidad del Rosario
Julio Gaitán is Professor of Constitutional Law and director of the Internet and Society center at the Universidad del Rosario - ISUR-, in Colombia. His approach is transdisciplinary and collaborative research on topics of juridical anthropology, juridical pluralism, sociology of knowledge, open and participatory science, access to knowledge and public interest.
Prof. Oscar Javier Maldonado Castañeda
Universidad del Rosario
Oscar Javier Maldonado Castañeda is Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology at Universidad del Rosario (Bogotá, Colombia). His area of research is the social studies of science and technology. He is currently Director of the Digital and Inventive Methods Laboratory (DiSoR-LAB).
Mohammad Amir Anwar (Principal Investigator)
Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor), University of Edinburgh
Anita Gurumurthy
Executive Director and Senior Fellow - Research & Policy Engagement, IT for Change.
Anita Gurumurthy is a founding member and Executive Director of IT for Change where she leads research and advocacy on data and AI governance, platform regulation, and feminist frameworks on digital justice. She serves as an expert on various bodies – including as co-chair of the T20’s digital transformation working group on platform governance and has been part of the High Level Committee of the NetMundial+10 under Brazil’s leadership , the UN Secretary-General’s 10-Member Group on Technology Facilitation, and the Paris Peace Forum’s working group on algorithmic governance.
Nandini Chami
IT for Change
Nandini Chami's work largely focuses on research and policy advocacy in the domains of digital rights and development, and the political economy of women’s rights in the information society She is part of the organisation’s advocacy efforts around the 2030 development agenda on issues of ‘data for development’ and digital technologies and gender justice. She also provides strategic support to IT for Change’s field centre, Prakriye. She has a Master's in Urban and Rural Community Development from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai.
Mophat Okinyi
Co-Founder, Tech Worker Community Africa
Mophat Okinyi, Founder & CEO of Techworker Community Africa, is an AI and human rights activist advocating for the fair treatment of tech workers, content moderators, and data trainers. Recognized by TIME100 AI 2024, Mophat envisions an equitable future where AI benefits all, championing respect, fair practices, and inclusivity for all workers.
Richard Mathenge
Co-founder, Tech Worker Community Africa
Richard Mathenge, Co-Founder & Chief Operations Officer of Techworker Community Africa is a leading advocate for tech workers and content moderators. Recognized globally, he has championed better working conditions and human treatment in the AI industry, earning accolades like _*TIME's Top 100 Most Influential People in AI*_ and _*Top 100 Kenyans 2023* for his efforts to inspire the international community, sparking invitations from around the world.
Dr. Uma Rani
Senior Economist, International Labour Organisation
Uma Rani is Senior Economist at the Research Department of the International Labour Office (ILO) in Geneva and joined the organisation in 2008. Prior to joining the ILO, she held the position of Associate Professor at Gujarat Institute of Development Research, Ahmedabad, India and Visiting Fellow positions in numerous locations including Japan, India Switzerland, and France.
Between 2017 and 2019, she was part of the ILO Technical Secretariat for the Commission on Future of Work. She is a board member of the Women in Informal Employment Globalising and Organising (WIEGO) network.
She holds a Ph.D in Development Economics from University of Hyderabad, India and has published in Journals and edited volumes, and has co-authored books.
Between 2017 and 2019, she was part of the ILO Technical Secretariat for the Commission on Future of Work. She is a board member of the Women in Informal Employment Globalising and Organising (WIEGO) network.
She holds a Ph.D in Development Economics from University of Hyderabad, India and has published in Journals and edited volumes, and has co-authored books.
Ashnah Kalamera
Programme Manager, Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA)
Sadhana Sanjay
IT for Change
Sadhana Sanjay has a background in law and holds a master’s degree in international law and development from Leiden University. At IT for Change, she researches the digital economy, with a focus on labour and worker well-being, algorithmic management, the political economy of data, Big Tech regulation, and digital trade. On these issues, she works closely with global and regional coalitions, and engages with national, regional and multilateral policy consultations. She takes a keen interest in how community and people-led alternatives can build a just and inclusive digital economy, while challenging the corporate capture of digital spaces.
Advisory Board Members
Dr. Milagros Micelli
Research Group Lead, Weizenbaum Institute for the Networked Society International Labour Organisation
Dr. Alex Hanna
Director of Research, Distributed AI Research Institute
Dr. Alex Hanna is Director of Research at the Distributed AI Research Institute (DAIR). A sociologist by training, her work centers on the data used in new computational technologies, and the ways in which these data exacerbate racial, gender, and class inequality. She also works in the area of social movements, focusing on the dynamics of anti-racist campus protest in the US and Canada. She holds a BS in Computer Science and Mathematics and a BA in Sociology from Purdue University, and an MS and a PhD in Sociology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Dr. Michel Wahome
Lecturer (Assistant Professor), University College London
Michel is lecturer in the Dept of Science & Technology Studies, UCL. Her research is on technological and scientific knowledge production in Africa by applying transdisciplinary approaches, decolonial practice and epistemic pluralism. She is the author of two books and numerous articles. She holds an Honours Bachelor of Environmental Studies degree at the University of Waterloo in Canada, an MSc in Environmental Policy from Bard College, US and was awarded a PhD by the University of Edinburgh which was based on an analysis of the practices and experiences of digital start-up entrepreneurs in Nairobi, Kenya. She was a Co-Investigator on the GCRF Tomorrow's Cities Hub and was also a research fellow on the GCRF One Ocean Hub at Strathclyde University. In addition, she has held a research position at the Oxford Internet Institute.
Dr. Julian Posada
Assistant Professor, Yale University
Julian Posada is an Assistant Professor of American Studies at Yale University. His research integrates theories and methods from information science, sociology, and human-computer interaction to examine how technology is developed and used within various historical, cultural, and social contexts.
His current book project investigates the dynamics between human labor and data production in the artificial intelligence industry. Incorporating Latin American critical thought, this study emphasizes the experiences of workers in the region who are employed by digital platforms to produce machine learning data and validate algorithmic outputs.
Posada obtained his Ph.D. in Information Science from the University of Toronto. He also holds a maîtrise in the Humanities from Sorbonne University and a master’s degree in Sociology from the School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences (EHESS).
His current book project investigates the dynamics between human labor and data production in the artificial intelligence industry. Incorporating Latin American critical thought, this study emphasizes the experiences of workers in the region who are employed by digital platforms to produce machine learning data and validate algorithmic outputs.
Posada obtained his Ph.D. in Information Science from the University of Toronto. He also holds a maîtrise in the Humanities from Sorbonne University and a master’s degree in Sociology from the School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences (EHESS).
Dr. Yousif Hassan
Assistant Professor
Yousif is an assistant professor at the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy. His work examines the social, economic, and political implications of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain, and big data focusing on the relationship between race, digital technology, and technoscientific capitalism. Hassan’s interest is at the intersection of social and racial justice, and technology policy. His most recent project investigates the development of AI and its innovation ecosystem across multiple African countries focusing on data governance and the sociotechnical knowledge production practices of the state, scientists, and the tech industry.