Hi, I'm

SOPHIE
BENNANI-TAYLOR

A social scientist researching the digitization of public services

Photo of Sophie Taylor

CRITICAL, MULTIDISCIPLINARY APPROACHES TO TECHNOLOGY

Research

I am particularly interested in the sociopolitical implications of digital ID programmes, which I am researching as part of the Harvard Berkman Klein Centre's Research Sprint on Digital Identification. I'm also conducting research on implications of digital identification systems on processes of vulnerabilisation, a project conducted in collaboration with colleagues from the University of Edinburgh, which we presented at STS Graz 2022.

Background

I recently completed a Master's degree in Digital Sociology at the University of Edinburgh. My dissertation project, supervised by Professor Nasar Meer, examined the biopolitical implications of the ASPEN card, a prepayment card provided to UK asylum seekers. Prior to this, I worked as a Digital Ethics Consultant, examining the ethical implications of digital technologies with a range of public and private sector clients. You can find a fuller description of my background on my CV.

Publications

I'm currently working on a paper which examines how digital policy documents (particularly National AI Strategies) try to stabilise what AI is, means and includes. This is a development of my presentation at the Governance by Infrastructure workshop in March 2022, co-organised by the University of Lausanne and the University of Edinburgh. I've also published a review of Stephanie Hare's Technology Is Not Neutral for the LSE Review of Books. You can find a sample of my non-academic writing below, or a fuller list on my Medium page.

Writing

Deliveroo rider stopping outside a restaurant
Cloud Services, AI, and the rise of Digital Rentier Capitalism

Who owns the Internet? What seems like an abstract question might actually help us challenge the changing ownership of our digital infrastructures...
Racks of servers in a datacentre
What lies beneath the Metaverse?

In a world characterised by injustices such as growing inequality and climate change, escape to a virtual utopia is certainly alluring. However, the ‘real’ world doesn’t just disappear when we enter a virtual one...
Racks of servers in a datacentre
Why is the critique of technological determinism still relevant?

Although technological determinism has long been critiqued in the social studies of technology, it remains central to political and media depictions of technological forces. But what is technological determinism, and why does it matter?