Gianluigi Maria Riva

Gianluigi Maria Riva is a Research Fellow at University College Dublin (UCD), affiliated with the School of Information and Communication Studies. He holds a Marie Curie PhD in Privacy, Ethics and New Technologies from UCD and is a non-residential Connection Science Fellow at the MIT Media Lab’s Human Dynamics group. His expertise spans data protection law, invasive technologies (e.g., IoT, BCI), and EU-US privacy comparisons, particularly in genetic and biometric profiling.

Education: PhD in Privacy, Ethics, and New Technologies (UCD). Former Fulbright-Shuman Visiting Scholar at MIT Media Lab.

Research focuses on dark patterns, ethical governance frameworks for emerging technologies, and privacy-by-design principles in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI). Collaborated with organizations like Telefonica Innovaciò Alpha on ethics governance and participated in EU projects such as H2020 TEAM-ITN (mental health tech) and REINITIALISE (digital health privacy).

Awards: 2022 Best Innovator Award (Marie Curie Alumni Association).

Leadership: Coordinates a law seminar at the University of Pavia, contributes to EU COST Actions (e.g., Privacy and Security, Researcher Mental Health), and leads editorial roles in Frontiers in Human Dynamics. Member of committees like the IEEE, AssoDPO’s AI Scientific Committee, and the I.R.C.C.S. Mondino Neurological Institute’s Board.

Prior roles include Military Police Officer, Commercial Manager, litigation Attorney, and Legal/Data Protection consultant.