The ADM+S Working Papers series publishes new research by ADM+S Centre members and collaborators in an open access format.
Generative AI technologies applied to ecosystems and the environment: a scoping review
May 2024 | Working paper
Ella Butler, Prof Deborah Lupton
This paper provides a scoping review of the literature on the ways that novel generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools are being applied to living things and other elements of ecosystems and the natural environment.
The paper outlines several areas where generative AI is being deployed in new research projects and industry applications. These include animal communication and agriculture and plant cultivation, as well as environmental sustainability, biodiversity, climate change and nature conservation initiatives.
The paper also details some of the negative environmental costs and ethical issues associated with the manufacture, training and infrastructure that support generative AI and large language models more generally.
The Australian Ad Observatory: technical and data report
Jan 2024 | Working paper
Prof Daniel Angus, Dr Abdul Karim Obeid, Prof Jean Burgess, Prof Christine Parker, Prof Mark Andrejevic, Julian Bagnara, Prof Nicholas Carah, Dr Robbie Fordyce, Lauren Hayden, Dr Kelly Lewis, Dr Christopher O’Neill, Dr César Albarrán-Torres, Dr Loup Cellard
The Australian Ad Observatory (‘Ad Observatory’) is a project of the Australian Research Council (ARC) Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society (ADM+S) that aims to improve the observability of targeted online advertising in Australia using novel data donation infrastructure and hybrid digital methods.
This report provides an overview of the Australian Ad Observatory project’s data, infrastructure, and software tools, and serves as a detailed technical companion to the background paper previously published (Burgess et al., 2022).
What Role for Standards and Assurance in Regulating Artificial Intelligence in Australia? Mapping ADM in Australian Social Services
December 2023 | Working paper
Dr Henry Fraser, Prof Fiona Haines, Dr José-Miguel Bello y Villarino, Prof Kimberlee Weatherall, and Prof Christine Parker
This paper analyses the objectives of Europe’s New Approach, assessing strengths, weaknesses, challenges and opportunities of relying on standards and assurance to manage risks from AI systems and to achieve socio-technical objectives such as ‘responsible’ and ‘trustworthy’ AI. It puts forward several reasons to avoid over-reliance on standards as a regulatory mechanism for AI.
Measuring intermediary news diversity: Google News in Australia
October 2023 | Working paper
Dr James Meese, Dr Abdul Karim Obeid, Prof Daniel Angus and Prof Axel Bruns
This paper presents results from a sub-project established under the banner of the ADM+S Australian Search Experience ‘citizen science’ research project. The aim was to understand what sort of news is presented to Australians through Google News.
Mapping ADM in Australian Social Services
October 2022 | Working paper
Dr Lyndal Sleep, Brooke Ann Coco, Prof Paul Henman,
This report provides a baseline dataset for researchers on the types of automated decision-making (ADM) systems being utilised in Australian social services.
Mapping the Digital Gap: Background Paper
October 2022 | Working paper
Dr Daniel Featherstone, Prof Julian Thomas, Dr Indigo Holcombe-James, Dr Lyndon Ormond-Parker, Dr Jenny Kennedy
This paper sets out the approach, main objectives, policy and research context, methodology and research sites of the Mapping the Digital Gap research project
Australian Ad Observatory: Background Paper
15 July 2022 | Working paper
Prof Jean Burgess, Prof Mark Andrejevic, Prof Daniel Angus, Dr Abdul Karim Obeid
This working paper is designed to provide background information on the aims and methods of the Automated Decision-Making and Society (ADM+S) Australian Ad Observatory research project.
Decentralising data governance: Decentralised Autonomous Organisations (DAOs) as data trusts
June 2022 | Working paper
Kelsie Nabben
Can data be governed in more democratic and accountable ways? This working paper explores the idea of blockchain-based “Decentralised Autonomous Organisations” (DAOs) as data trusts as a new model for data stewardship.
Improving a framework for evaluating participatory science
June 2022 | Preprint
Dr Cobi Calyx, Dr Summer May Finlay
This paper proposes improvements to an open framework for evaluating participatory science, including projects framed as citizen science.
ADM in child and family services: Mapping what is happening and what we know
May 2022 | Working paper
Dr Lyndal Sleep, Prof Paul Henman
This paper reports on the proceedings of a workshop held on the 24 November 2020 which brought together international experts and on-the-ground sector stakeholders to provide an overview of what automated decision-making is being used in child and family services and what it means to service providers, professionals and service users.
Australian Search Experience Project: Background paper
Jan 2022 | Working paper
Prof Axel Bruns
This background paper outlines the motivations for the Australian Search Experience project, presents the broader context of the research, introduces prior work by our research partner AlgorithmWatch, and describes the practical implementation of the study.
