Dr Janis Wong

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Postdoctoral Research Associate

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Dr Janis Wong is a Postdoctoral Research Associate on the Ethics theme of the Public Policy Programme. She has an interdisciplinary PhD in Computer Science from the Centre for Research into Information, Surveillance and Privacy (CRISP), University of St Andrews, where her PhD thesis on co-creating data protection solutions through a commons was awarded the Stefano Rodotà Award by the Council of Europe for best data protection thesis. She also holds an MSc in Computing and Information Technology from the University of St Andrews and an LLB Bachelor of Laws from the London School of Economics.

Janis is interested in the legal and technological applications in data protection, ethics, governance, and stewardship. In 2020-21, Janis was a Research Fellow at the Open Data Institute, focusing on data protection and governance in online teaching, learning analytics, and educational technology. In addition to working with universities and the public sector, she is a frequent expert contributor to public media and works closely with private sector organisations to turn theory into practice. She currently sits on the Data Ethics Steering Group as part of The RED Foundation to apply data ethics practices into the real estate sector.

Research interests

Janis' research focuses on data protection, stewardship, and governance as it relates to artificial intelligence, ethics, and public policy. She draws on her expertise in data protection and information regulations, data stewardship and data governance, human-computer interaction (HCI), and science and technology studies (STS) to address power imbalances and stakeholder tensions when designing, building, and deploying innovative technologies.

Janis uses both quantitative and qualitative methodologies in her research, where her past research includes topics such as data protection rights, privacy-enhancing technologies (PETs), online learning and educational technologies, the impact of social media on the physical and mental health of young people, research ethics frameworks, and collaborative design.

Achievements and awards

Janis was awarded the Stefano Rodotà Award 2023 from the Council of Europe Committee of Convention 108, with her PhD thesis on data protection awarded first place and an invitation to present her work at the Committee of Convention 108 Plenary in Strasbourg.

Janis is an active speaker and enjoys communicating artificial intelligence, ethics, and privacy-related topics to both academic and non-academic audiences.

A selected list of invited talks and public appearances include:

 

  • Introduction to Data Ethics – Teaching workshops at Acland Burghley School, February 9 2023
  • Meta settles Cambridge Analytica scandal case for $725m – Quoted in BBC News and BBC Radio 4 Six O’Clock News, December 23 2022
  • Twitter and Elon Musk’s takeover – Interviewed for BBC Radio Scotland The Sunday Show on what the takeover means for social media, November 13 2022
  • A healthy trust in data? Personalised health and preventative care – Newcastle University, October 26 2022
  • The Data Commons: How user power can protect privacy and promote data protection – National Association of Data Protection Officers, October 25 2022
  • WhatsApp: Mark Zuckerberg reveals new privacy features – Quoted in BBC News and interviewed for BBC Radio 5 Live and BBC Radio Ulster, August 9 2022
  • Beyond Big Data Surveillance: Freedom & Fairness – University of Ottawa, May 18 2022
  • A Conversation on Web Scraping – DataKind UK, September 15 2021
  • Data Protection as a Commons – Creative Commons Summit, October 22 2020
  • "St Andrews student's fear after being secretly tracked by Apple AirTags" quote. The Courier, February 2022
  • "Apple AirTags - ‘A perfect tool for stalking’'. BBC Radio 5 Live, January 2022
  • "Data protection and governance in educational spaces" seminar. University of Winchester, November 2021
  • "Neighbour wins privacy row over smart doorbell and cameras". BBC Radio 5 Live, October 2021
  • "A Conversation on Web Scraping". DataKind UK, September 2021
  • "Whither data portability? Obstacles to the GDPR's newest data subject right". British and Irish Law Education and Technology Association (BILETA) Annual Conference 2021
  • "Virtual Hack: How can we tackle the spread of 'fake news' and build public knowledge and trust in sound science?". The Royal Society of Edinburgh Post-Covid-19 Futures Commission, March 2021
  • "Homeschooling and working from home". STV News at Six, January 2021 "Data Protection as a Commons". Creative Commons Summit 2020
  • "Unconscious Bias: Building data ethics into our tech industry". Codeclan and Lloyds Bank, July 2020
  • "The right to data portability in practice". Commission Nationale Informatique & Libertés (CNIL), June 2019
  • The right to data portability in practice – Commission Nationale Informatique & Libertés (French data protection authority), June 13 2019
  • The Right to Data Portability in Practice – British Computer Society, June 5 2019

Turing Research



Turing Publications

Research publications

AI Ethics and Governance in Practice: AI Sustainability in Practice Part Two: Sustainability Throughout the AI Workflow

The second workbook on AI Sustainability in Practice, part of the AI Ethics and Governance in Practice Programme.

Leslie, D., Rincón, C., Briggs, M., Perini, A., Jayadeva, S., Borda, A., Bennett, SJ. Burr, C., Aitken, M., Katell, M., Fischer, Wong, J., and Kherroubi Garcia, I. (2023). AI Sustainability in Practice Part Two: Sustainability Throughout the AI Workflow. The Alan Turing Institute.

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