Distinguished Data Society Scholar and Digital Democracy Expert
Associated with :
The University of EdinburghMorgan Currie serves as Lecturer in Data and Society at the University of Edinburgh's Science, Technology and Innovation Studies department, where she examines the intersection of data infrastructure and democratic governance. After earning her PhD in Information Studies from UCLA in 2017 and completing a postdoctoral fellowship at Stanford University's Digital Civil Society Lab, she has built an impressive career investigating open government data, algorithmic welfare systems, and civic data practices. As principal investigator of The Culture & Communities Mapping Project and co-lead of the Digital Social Science Research Cluster at the Centre for Data, Culture & Society, she explores how data infrastructures shape democratic participation and political engagement. Her research spans multiple areas including automated social services, administrative data practices, and urban datafication, with particular focus on how city governments deploy data-driven tools for public services. Through projects examining Universal Credit automation and cultural mapping initiatives, she continues to advance understanding of how data practices influence democratic decision-making while maintaining active engagement with communities through participatory research methods.