Dr. Eric J. W. Orlowski
Anthropologist | Technologist | FuturistResearch Fellow in AI Governance at AI Singapore.Ph.D. Sociocultural Anthropology, University College London.
Work Profile
My Profile.
I am a specialist in emerging technologies and their societal impacts, with a Ph.D. in sociocultural anthropology. I am currently a policy-focused research fellow with AI Singapore’s governance team, where I lead research efforts in AI ethics and governance.My expertise lies in understanding the individual and collective implications of new technologies through a human-centric approach. Throughout my career, I have consistently focused on the intersections between technology and society, researching the impacts of emerging technologies since 2018.
Current positions
Presently, I hold a number of different positions. I primarily hold a research fellowship in AI governance at the National University of Singapore's (NUS) AI Singapore research institute. Alongside this role, I am also:
Member of the Interdisciplinary Expert Pool, AI Sweden.
Member of the High Level Working Group on AI Governance, Nation AI Office (NAIO), Malaysia.
Vetted Consultant, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
Affiliated Researcher at the Department of Anthropology, University of Uppsala, Sweden.
I'm always open to new and exciting work and opportunities. Never hesitate to contact me for projects, collaborations, or anything in-between!
Active & Previous projects
Publications & Projects.
As an academic, I continuously produce new and exciting work within the science-technology-society space. My writing both takes the shape of peer-reviewed articles, and more informal blog posts.
Much of my non-academic work brings me into the realm of report-writing and presentations. These are usually more policy-focused.
Current projects
Currently, much of my work and active projects are focusing on the societal and cultural impact of artificial intelligence. This work falls into three primary 'buckets':
Foundational Research: Currently focused primarily on questions relating to cultural alignment among AI models.
Social Research: I am striving to better understand what the 'AI ecosystem' in Singapore is like, and how it operates.
Policy Research: Presently, I am involved in a handful projects aimed at re-framing Governance away from risk-management, and towards something more active.
Ph.D. work and thesis.
My Ph.D. -project focused on unpacking perceptions of techno-optimism and techno-utopianism in Sweden. The thesis is based 18 months' fieldwork in Sweden.
The thesis covers three main domains:
The impact that social and political history has on the contemporary perception of technology.
How technological development has become a goal in itself.
The different ways in which 'technology' is understood and conceptualised by different actors.
The thesis was successfully defended in September 2024. It is currently not publicly available. If you wish to know more, please reach out to me directly.
List of publications & projects
For a list of select publications and other key project, please see the link below.
Keep up with my work!
Follow my informal writing and publications on my companion blog Ready Aim Inquire!.The blog works as both a repository of my non-peer reviewed writing, as well as a peek into the kind of work I am currently undertaking.Ready Aim Inquire! holds both original publications for that blog, as well as re-posts of work I have published elsewhere.
