The recent rapid expansion of automated decision-making enabled by technologies from machine learning to the blockchain has great potential benefits, while it also creates serious new risks to human rights and welfare. Potential harms range from data discrimination against disadvantaged communities to the spread of disinformation for political and commercial ends. Increasing inequality, lower productivity and diminished economic security have all been highlighted as risks in the coming decade.
The ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society (ADM+S) is a new, cross-disciplinary, national research centre which aims to create the knowledge and strategies necessary for responsible, ethical, and inclusive automated decision-making. Funded by the Australian Research Council from 2020 to 2026, ADM+S is hosted at RMIT in Melbourne, Australia, with nodes in seven other Australian universities. The Centre brings together leading researchers in the humanities, social and technological sciences in an international industry, research and civil society network. Its priority domains for public engagement are news and media, transport, social services and health.
The Digital Media Research Centre hosts the QUT node of the ARC Centre of Excellence for ADM+S.
DMRC research programs
This project contributes to the research within the following DMRC research programs:
The Digital Social Contract | Digital Publics | Computational Communication & Culture
Project team
Investigators
- Professor Jean Burgess
- Professor Axel Bruns
- Professor Nicolas Suzor
- Professor Dan Hunter
- Dr Ariadna Matamoros Fernandez
- Professor Daniel Angus
- Dr Timothy Graham
Project partners
Australian Universities
- RMIT University
- Monash University
- University of Melbourne
- Swinburne University
- University of Queensland
- University of Sydney
- University of New South Wales
- Western Sydney University
International University partners
- Halmstad University
- University of Birmingham
- Cornell Tech
- New York University
- Brooklyn Law School
- University of Amsterdam
- Hans-Bredow-Institute
- University of Hamburg
Industry partners
- Google Australia
- Volvo Cars (Sweden)
- Australian Red Cross Society
- Australian Broadcasting Corporation
- Australian Council of Social Service
- Australian Communications Consumer Action Network Limited
- Consumers Health Forum of Australia
- Victorian Information Commissioner
- Bendigo Hospital
- Max Kelsen
- Consumer Policy Research Centre
- Data & Society Research Institute (US)
- Digital Asia Hub (Hong Kong)
- Algorithm Watch (Germany)
Project funding
- Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence (2020 – 2025)
