معرفی
Simone Browne is Associate Professor in the Department of African and African Diaspora Studies at the University of Texas at Austin and Research Director of Critical Surveillance Inquiry (CSI) with Good Systems, a research collaborative examining the social and ethical implications of surveillance technologies. She holds a Ph.D. in Sociology and Equity Studies in Education from the University of Toronto.
Her research focuses on surveillance studies through the lens of Black studies, examining how contemporary surveillance technologies are informed by the historical practices of racial formation and policing of Black life. Browne's work spans historical analysis of slavery-era surveillance practices to contemporary algorithmic bias and AI ethics, with a particular emphasis on how Black communities experience and resist surveillance.
Browne's publications reveal a consistent focus on the intersection of race, technology, and power. Her work traces historical continuities between practices like slave branding and modern biometric identification systems, while also examining contemporary manifestations in airport security, facial recognition technology, and algorithmic decision-making. Her research demonstrates how surveillance has long been racialized, with Black bodies serving as sites for the development and testing of surveillance technologies.
- 2016 Lora Romero First Book Publication Prize by the American Studies Association
- 2016 Surveillance Studies Book Prize by the Surveillance Studies Network
- 2015 Donald McGannon Award for Social and Ethical Relevance in Communications Technology Research
- 2021 Matakyev Research Fellow at the Center for Imagination in the Borderlands
- Gerald LeBoff Visiting Scholar at New York University
Browne actively engages with multiple research communities, serving on the Academic Council of AI NOW Institute, Executive Board of HASTAC, Board Member of The Dark Laboratory, and Community Advisory Board of the US Covid Atlas Project. Her teaching includes courses on Race/Gender/Surveillance and Surveillance: An Introduction, reflecting her interdisciplinary approach that bridges African diaspora studies, sociology, and technology studies.
As Research Director of Critical Surveillance Inquiry, Browne leads collaborative efforts with scholars, organizations, and communities to develop frameworks for understanding and addressing algorithmic harm. She is currently working on her second book manuscript, which examines artistic interventions in the surveillance of Black life across multiple domains including policing, privacy, smart dust, COINTELPRO, encryption, electronic waste, and artificial intelligence.
