Kate Crawford

Senior Principal of Research for Microsoft Research, Research Professor at the University of Southern California, Inaugural Visiting Chair in AI & Justice at the École Normale Supérieure

Kate Crawford’s Biography:

Kate Crawford is a globally recognised scholar examining the social, political and environmental implications of artificial intelligence. As Senior Principal Researcher at Microsoft Research and Research Professor at USC Annenberg, she has shaped international debate on AI risk, power and accountability. Named among the Time 100 Most Influential People in AI in 2023, Kate is widely respected for exposing the hidden infrastructures behind large scale data systems. As a keynote speaker, she delivers rigorous, evidence based insight into how AI reshapes labour, governance and democratic institutions.

Kate earned her PhD from the University of Sydney, winning the Manning Clark National Cultural Award for her doctoral research. She later became Associate Professor at the University of New South Wales before holding visiting and senior research roles at MIT Media Lab and New York University. As co founder and Distinguished Research Professor at the AI Now Institute at NYU, she led interdisciplinary research into the societal consequences of artificial intelligence, building one of the most influential research centres examining algorithmic accountability and public policy.

In addition to co founding Knowing Machines at USC and FATE at Microsoft Research, Kate has advised policymakers at the United Nations, the European Parliament, the White House and the Australian Human Rights Commission. Her book Atlas of AI was named one of the best technology books of 2021 by the Financial Times. Her award winning visual collaboration Anatomy of an AI System is held in the permanent collections of the V&A and the Museum of Modern Art. She has also received the Ayrton Prize from the British Society for the History of Science.

Kate’s speaking engagements confront the power structures embedded in AI systems, encouraging organisations to interrogate data supply chains, governance frameworks and long term societal impact.

Why Hire Kate Crawford?

Kate is hired for her ability to move beyond technical performance metrics and expose the structural forces shaping artificial intelligence. Drawing on interdisciplinary research spanning law, labour, environment and political economy, she equips leaders with a deeper understanding of risk, accountability and regulatory responsibility. Her keynote presentations challenge audiences to consider who benefits, who bears the cost and how AI systems can entrench or disrupt inequality. Organisations seeking ethical foresight and policy literacy gain strategic clarity from her evidence led analysis.

Kate Crawford’s Career Highlights:

Here are some of the key milestones that define Kate Crawford’s impressive career:

• 2025 – Featured in The New York Times
• 2024 – New project “Calculating Empires: A Genealogy of Power & Technology” exhibited at the KW Institute in Berlin
• 2023 – Named on the TIME100 as one of the Most Influential People in AI
• 2022 – Her “Anatomy of an AI System” project exhibited at the MoMA in New York
• 2022 – Shortlisted for The Bragg UNSW Press Prize for Science Writing
• 2021 – Author of “Atlas of AI: Power, Politics & the Planetary Costs of Artificial Intelligence
• 2021 – Research Professor at USC Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism
• 2019 – Recipient of the Design of the Year Award at The Design Museum
• 2019 – Inaugural Visiting Chair of AI and Justice at École Normale Supérieure
• 2017 – Distinguished Research Professor at the AI Now Institute at NYU
• 2017 – Established the AI Now Institute, associated with the New York University Tandon School of Engineering
• 2013 – Senior Research Fellow at New York University
• 2013 – Keynote speaker at the O’Reilly Strata Conference & the DataEDGE Conference
• 2013 – Visiting Professor of MIT Media Lab
• 2012 – Senior Principal Researcher for Microsoft Research
• 2008 – Associate Professor at the University of New South Wales
• 2008 – Recipient of the Biennial Medal for Outstanding Scholarship from the Australian Academy of the Humanities