About me

I am a technology policy researcher who has spent more than a decade thinking about how the internet and artificial intelligence are transforming society.

Career history

My career history includes working in the Civil Service (Foreign Office and DCMS), in financial services (at KPMG in Canary Wharf), and in politics (at London City Hall and the UK Parliament). I’ve also worked as Head of Policy (Data and Digital Technologies) at the Royal Society, Head of Think Tank at Future Advocacy, and as the Director of WebRoots Democracy.

Deepfakes

During the 2019 UK General Election, I led a high-profile project to produce deepfake campaign videos of Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn endorsing each other to be Prime Minister. These videos warned viewers of the dangers of AI-generated disinformation and unregulated social media platforms. The project went viral, received global media attention, and reached millions of people. A behind-the-scenes film about the project can be viewed on the BBC website here.

Facial recognition surveillance

I am the author of Unmasking Facial Recognition: An exploration of the racial bias implications of facial recognition surveillance in the United Kingdom. The report looks beyond the question of accuracy and situates the technology within the broader context of racialised surveillance. It revealed that London’s Metropolitan Police failed to carry out an equality impact assessment prior to triallng the technology at events such as the Notting Hill Carnival. The report makes several recommendations and calls for a ‘generational ban’ on the technology. As a Councillor, I led a successful campaign in 2023 for Newham Council to back a ban on facial recognition surveillance in the East London borough.

WebRoots Democracy

When I was 21 years old, I founded WebRoots Democracy – an influential think tank focused on progressive and inclusive technology policy. The organisation ran for several years before I closed it in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. It published reports, engaged with decision-makers, and organised public events on issues related to online voting; digital democracy; social media regulation; and artificial intelligence. You can learn more about it on the WebRoots Democracy website here.

Newham Council

From 2022 to 2026, I served as Local Councillor, representing Canning Town North in Newham, East London. I was a member of Newham Council’s Audit and Governance Committee throughout this period. In the 2026 local elections, I was the Green Party’s candidate for Mayor of Newham, finishing third with 18,999 votes.

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