James WRIGHT

James WRIGHT is an affiliated Research Fellow at the Alan Turing Institute (UK's national institute for data science and AI). He leads the PATH-AI project, exploring intercultural ethics in human-AI ecosystems through comparative studies between Japan and the UK. His work focuses on privacy, agency, and trust in technologies like pandemic contact-tracing apps. Previously, he held a postdoctoral fellowship at the Fondation France-Japon (part of EHESS, Paris), analyzing public-funded care robotics projects, and was part of the Sustainable Care program at the University of Sheffield. He completed his anthropology/STS PhD at the University of Hong Kong in 2018, studying Japanese care robotics development.

Education:

• PhD in Anthropology & Science and Technology Studies, University of Hong Kong (2018)

Research Interests: Interdisciplinary exploration of technology's societal impacts, including:

• Ethical frameworks for AI/robotics adoption
• Public innovation policy success/failure factors
• Global comparisons of digital care systems
• Cultural dimensions of technological implementation

Awards: 2019 FFJ/Michelin Chair enabled fieldwork in Japan, comparative robotics studies, and networking across European institutions. This fellowship supported publication of one article and preparation of a monograph prospectus.

Grants & Advising: Leveraged interdisciplinary collaborations through:

• PATH-AI (Alan Turing Institute)
• Sustainable Care program (University of Sheffield)
• FFJ/Michelin-funded comparative robotics research