Rebekah Harms

I am undertaking a three-year postdoctoral project titled: ‘Ensuring Equity and Accessibility in the Integration of Artificial Intelligence and Automated Decision-Making in Engineering Biology.’ This project is jointly funded by the Critical Capabilities for Inclusive AI subproject within the ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society, and the CSIRO’s Advanced Engineering Biology Future Science Platform.

Both artificial intelligence (AI) and automated decision-making (ADM) offer significant opportunities in medicine and the life sciences, including within the field of engineering biology. AI and ADM can be used to interpret complex data, undertake predictive modelling, and create personalised treatment plans. While AI and ADM represent a significant step forward in these areas, it is critical that these technologies are developed equitably, in order to avoid excluding or discriminating against certain groups and perpetuating global health disparities.

The aim of this project is to explore the barriers to achieving equitable use and access that may be associated with the use of AI and ADM within engineering biology. The project is being undertaken in collaboration with Prof Jackie Leach Scully, Director of the Disability Innovation Institute at The University of New South Wales, Dr Aditi Mankad, Theme Leader of the Interdisciplinary Decision Making theme within the AEB FSP, Prof Rachel Ankeny, Chair of the Philosophy Group at Wageningen University & Research, and Dr Lucy Carter, Senior Research Scientist at the CSIRO. I am based at UNSW/CSIRO as a Postdoctoral Fellow and The University of Adelaide as a Visiting Research Fellow.