Ana Pop Stefanija

Ana Pop Stefanija is a PhD researcher at imec-SMIT, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, under the supervision of professor Jo Pierson. She is part of the Data, Privacy & Empowerment Unit.

Ana is doing her PhD as part of the FWO funded project DELICIOS-Delegation of Decision-Making to Autonomous Agents in Socio-Technical Systems, investigating the requirements for building trustworthy, transparent, explainable and accountable AI systems, using various methods, tools and mediums (such as AR&VR). As part of her individual PhD track within the project, titled Power by Proxy — investigating algorithmic governmentality and strategies for data & algorithmic agency, she is mostly interested in the concept of “algorithmic governmentality”, investigating the underlying power asymmetries, but also looking at the potential strategies of resistance, potentially through data agency and algorithmic agency. The aim is to propose an outline (for design, regulation, user agency), a “reconciliation strategy” between what is needed (users), what is possible (technology) and what is required (regulation). This should help sketch possible avenues for resistance, agency, and (em)power(ment), of individuals in particular.

Ana holds a MA in Digital Communication Leadership (with distinction, policy track), a Erasmus Mundus Joint Master Degree of the University of Salzburg, Vrije Universiteit Brussel and Aalborg Universitet, Denmark.