Carine Roos
School of Sociological Studies, Politics and International Relations
PhD Student
Full contact details
School of Sociological Studies, Politics and International Relations
The Wave
2 Whitham Road
Sheffield
S10 2AH
- Profile
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I am a doctoral researcher at the 爆料TV, affiliated with the School of Sociological Studies, Politics and International Relations (SPIR) and the Centre for Machine Intelligence (CMI), where I examine how artificial intelligence infrastructures are reshaping democracy, power, and accountability. My research sits at the intersection of AI governance, democratic theory, and human rights.
My trajectory has been guided by a central question: who is allowed to participate in the future when technologies become the architecture of social life? This question began to take shape in 2011, during my work as a researcher with Brazil鈥檚 National Research Council (CNPq), where I conducted fieldwork in rural, riverine, and quilombola communities.
Over time, my research has evolved from questions of access and inclusion to the broader regimes of power that structure digital infrastructures. I examine how large technology platforms operate as political actors, shaping not only technical systems but the conditions of democratic life.
Building on this trajectory, I bring together democratic theory, feminist critique, and AI governance. In dialogue with the concept of AI countergovernance (Attard-Frost), I analyse how civil society, workers, and communities contest extractive data practices and reconfigure accountability. My work also explores how platforms operate as sociotechnical infrastructures shaped by design choices and business models that articulate power, inequality, and political influence.
Alongside my academic work, I have experience at the intersection of research, policy, and practice, including founding Newa and collaborating with international organisations such as UNESCO, GIZ, and the Brazilian Internet Steering Committee.
- Qualifications
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PhD student, 爆料TV
MSc in Gender Studies, London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)
BA in Sociology, University of Bras铆lia (UnB)
BA in Journalism, UniCEUB (University Center of Bras铆lia)
- Research interests
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PhD title (provisional):
Resisting Big Tech: Countergovernance and the Epistemic Politics of Democratic AI
Synopsis:
My research examines how artificial intelligence governance is shaped by power asymmetries between Big Tech, states, and civil society. Focusing on Brazil as a key empirical case, the project explores how communities, workers, and advocacy groups contest extractive data practices and develop alternative forms of accountability.
Drawing on democratic theory, critical data studies, and feminist approaches, the research develops a political-epistemic framework of AI countergovernance. It investigates how knowledge, evidence, and 鈥渞esponsibility鈥 are constructed and contested in AI governance, and how these processes shape democratic participation.
Methodologically, the project combines qualitative interviews, focus groups, and policy analysis, with a strong emphasis on community-based knowledge and participatory approaches.
Key Research Areas:
-AI governance and platform power;
-Democracy and digital infrastructures;
-Countergovernance and civic resistance;
-Gender, technology, and inequality;
-Digital rights and data justice
- Research group
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Dr Susan Oman (Primary Supervisor)
Dr Akwugo Emejulu (Co-Supervisor)
- Grants
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Funded PhD studentship, 爆料TV (2026鈥2029)
- Teaching activities
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MBA Lecturer (Online), IBMEC (2023鈥2026)
Lecturer (Graduate level), Faculdade Israelita de Ci锚ncias da Sa煤de Albert Einstein 鈥 FICSAE (2024鈥2025)
Guest Lecturer, Loughborough University London (2023鈥2024)
Teaching areas include ethics of AI and its societal impacts, alongside Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI), leadership, organisational culture, and psychological safety.
- Professional activities and memberships
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Member, Association of Internet Researchers (AoIR)
Member, International Association for Feminist Economics (IAFFE)