David Jackson

Dr David Jackson is a Senior Lecturer in Digital Visualisation at Manchester Metropolitan University's School of Digital Arts (SODA). As SODA Doctoral Student Lead and Research Degrees Coordinator, he explores the creative application of AI in narrative contexts, focusing on audience engagement, prosody in conversational agents, and parasocial dynamics. His work includes the Audience with a Hero project (Innovate UK-funded) and co-founding Algorithms for Marginalised People (AMP), addressing AI biases through projects like Mood/Music.

Research interests: His practice-led work bridges AI, digital storytelling, and immersive technologies. Key areas include conversational agent design, reparative approaches to algorithmic bias, transdisciplinary methodologies, and the psychological impact of voice-based interactions in VR environments. He investigates how prosodic features (tone, pitch, pace) affect audience perception of synthetic voices and the role of parasocial relationships in shaping interactions with digital personas.

Scientific contributions: Notable works include the Storybox conversational agent framework and the D-PAF conversational storytelling methodology. His AHRC post-doctoral fellowship (2018) advanced techniques for integrating audience psychology into AI-driven narrative systems.

Selected publications: Recent articles examine generative AI's cultural biases in creative education (Brazilian Creative Industries Journal, 2023), speech-led VR documentaries (XR-Metaverse Cases, 2023), and chatbot development for Shakespearean narratives (Expert Systems with Applications, 2021). His 2026 book Listening In: How Audio Surveillance became Artificial Intelligence will explore surveillance technology's evolution.