
Rebekah Harms
School of Humanities
Faculty of Arts, Business, Law and Economics
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.
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Appointments
Date Position Institution name 2024 - ongoing Postdoctoral Fellow UNSW Sydney 2024 - ongoing Visiting Research Fellow University of Adelaide 2016 - ongoing Research Assistant University of Adelaide -
Education
Date Institution name Country Title 2018 - 2024 University of Adelaide Australia Doctor of Philosophy 2017 University of Adelaide Australia Bachelor of Arts (Honours) 2014 - 2016 University of Adelaide Australia Bachelor of Arts (Advanced) -
Research Interests
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Journals
Year Citation 2024 Buddle, E., Ankeny, R., Paxton, R., Harms, R., & Bray, H. (2024). Asynchronous online focus groups to explore attitudes relating to technology and food: Finding an unexpected silver lining in methodological compromise.. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 23, 13 pages.
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Report for External Bodies
Year Citation 2021 Ankeny, R., & Harms, R. (2021). Focus groups on consumers' responses to the use of New Breeding Techniques (NBTs) in food production. Food Standards Australia & New Zealand. 2021 Grant, W., Bray, H., Harms, R., Ankeny, R. A., & Leach, J. (2021). Consumer Responses to the Use of NBTs in the Production of Food: A Systematic Literature Review. Food Standards Australia New Zealand. -
Theses
Year Citation 2024 Harms, R. J. (2024). Building the Innovation Economy: The History of Innovation Policies in South Australia, 1982 to 2011. (PhD Thesis, The University of Adelaide).
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