Overview
Background
Dr Caitlin Curtis is a research specialising in responsible AI, applied ethics, and emerging technologies. She leads national collaborations on AI governance and digital rights, shapes public policy and discourse, and created one of Australia’s first Responsible AI university courses.
Dr Curtis is a recipient of the 'ABC Top 5 Scientist Media Residency Award', and the Australian Institute of Science & Policy Tall Poppy Science Award', recognizing excellence in both research and science communication.
Teaching
- Caitlin currently teaches the UQ Master of Business Analytics course: Responsible Artificial Intelligence - which looks at the ethical, legal, and social issues relating to AI and automated systems.
- She also lectures into Responsible Management for the Global Economy, particularly around the ethical and responsible management of artificial intelligence and similar technologies.
She also coordinates and moderates the UQ AI Collaboratory's 'Ask Me Anything about AI' series, which is a unique forum that brings together panellists with technical expertise in artificial intelligence, along with experts from across social science, communication, policy, or law to answer audience questions and spark multidisciplinary discussion around important topics relating to AI systems, including: AI social media predictions, facial recognition systems, misinformation and AI, and deep learning.
Availability
- Dr Caitlin Curtis is:
- Available for supervision
- Media expert
Fields of research
Qualifications
- Doctor of Philosophy, University of South Florida
Research interests
-
Responsible AI and applied ethics: Responsible deployment of emerging technologies
-
Digital Governance: public trust and ethical deployment of AI in society
-
Governance and predictive applications of digital genomic data
-
Equitable access to and policy to support emerging biotechnology & AI in health
-
Effective communication of science and emerging technology
Research impacts
Dr Curtis' work appears in journals such as Computers in Human Behavior and AI & Ethics. She also leads impactful public-facing scholarship, having authored more than a dozen articles (10 as lead) in The Conversation, reaching over 500,000 readers and placing me among UQ’s top 65 most-read academics. She has appeared in media interviews to discuss her research, including ABC 7.30 Report, TripleJ Hack, and The Health Report with Norman Swan, among others. This commitment to public engagement, public discourse, and trust-building is further reflected in her co-authored book chapter, Establishing Trust in Science Communication (Curtis et al. 2023). Her work has informed national policy through five formal submissions into national inquiries, and been cited in government reports (e.g. Australia’s Safe and Responsible AI 2023 paper). Her work has been recognised with BEL Faculty and national awards for research impact and public engagement.
Works
Search Professor Caitlin Curtis’s works on UQ eSpace
Featured
2020
Other Outputs
Australians have low trust in artificial intelligence and want it to be better regulated
Curtis, Caitlin, Gillespie, Nicole and Lockey, Steven (2020, 10 29). Australians have low trust in artificial intelligence and want it to be better regulated The Conversation
Featured
2020
Other Outputs
Trust in Artificial Intelligence: Australian Insights
Lockey, Steve, Gillespie, Nicole and Curtis, Caitlin (2020). Trust in Artificial Intelligence: Australian Insights . Australia: The University of Queensland and KPMG. doi: 10.14264/b32f129
Featured
2020
Other Outputs
Human rights and technology project, submission #73 to the Australian Human Rights Commission
Curtis, Caitlin, Radke, Amelia and Hereward, James (2020). Human rights and technology project, submission #73 to the Australian Human Rights Commission. Human Rights and Technology Project: Australian Human Rights Commission.
Featured
2020
Conference Publication
PrivColl: practical privacy-preserving collaborative machine learning
Zhang, Yanjun, Bai, Guangdong, Li, Xue, Curtis, Caitlin, Chen, Chen and Ko, Ryan K. L. (2020). PrivColl: practical privacy-preserving collaborative machine learning. European Symposium on Research in Computer Security, Guildford, United Kingdom, 14-18 September 2020. Cham, Switzerland: Springer International Publishing. doi: 10.1007/978-3-030-58951-6_20
Featured
2019
Journal Article
Mitogenomic diversity in Sacred Ibis mummies sheds light on early Egyptian practices
Wasef, Sally, Subramanian, Sankar, O’Rorke, Richard, Huynen, Leon, El-Marghani, Samia, Curtis, Caitlin, Popinga, Alex, Holland, Barbara, Ikram, Salima, Millar, Craig, Willerslev, Eske and Lambert, David (2019). Mitogenomic diversity in Sacred Ibis mummies sheds light on early Egyptian practices. PLoS ONE, 14 (11) e0223964, e0223964. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0223964
Featured
2019
Other Outputs
Policy futures: regulating the new economy
Hussey, Karen, Yarnold, Jennifer, McEwan, Christopher, Maher, Ray, Henman, Paul, Radke, Amelia, Curtis, Caitlin, Fidelman, Pedro, Vickers, Claudia and Brolan, Claire (2019). Policy futures: regulating the new economy. Policy Futures Brisbane, Australia: The University of Queensland.
Featured
2019
Other Outputs
How DNA ancestry testing can change our ideas of who we are
Curtis, Caitlin (2019, 04 01). How DNA ancestry testing can change our ideas of who we are The Conversation
Featured
2019
Journal Article
What does Australia’s investment in genomics mean for public health?
Belcher, Andrea, Mangelsdorf, Marie, McDonald, Fiona, Curtis, Caitlin, Waddell, Nicola and Hussey, Karen (2019). What does Australia’s investment in genomics mean for public health?. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, 43 (3), 204-206. doi: 10.1111/1753-6405.12887
Featured
2019
Conference Publication
Enabling privacy-preserving sharing of genomic data for GWASs in decentralized networks
Zhang, Yanjun, Zhao, Xin, Li, Xue, Zhong, Mingyang, Curtis, Caitlin and Chen, Chen (2019). Enabling privacy-preserving sharing of genomic data for GWASs in decentralized networks. Twelfth ACM International Conference on Web Search and Data Mining, Melbourne, VIC, Australia, 11-15 February 2019. New York, NY, United States: Association for Computing Machinery. doi: 10.1145/3289600.3290983
Featured
2018
Other Outputs
Dramatic advances in forensics expose the need for genetic data legislation
Curtis, Caitlin, Hereward, James, Devereux, John, Hussey, Karen and Mangelsdorf, Marie (2018, 12 19). Dramatic advances in forensics expose the need for genetic data legislation The Conversation
Featured
2018
Journal Article
Protecting trust in medical genetics in the new era of forensics
Curtis, Caitlin, Hereward, James, Mangelsdorf, Marie, Hussey, Karen and Devereux, John (2018). Protecting trust in medical genetics in the new era of forensics. Genetics in Medicine, 21 (7), 1483-1485. doi: 10.1038/s41436-018-0396-7
Featured
2018
Other Outputs
Tweaking just a few genes in wild plants can create new food crops - but let's get the regulation right
Hereward, James and Curtis, Caitlin (2018, 10 24). Tweaking just a few genes in wild plants can create new food crops - but let's get the regulation right The Conversation
Featured
2018
Other Outputs
Submission to the Australian Human Rights Commission, Human Rights and Technology Project
Curtis, Caitlin, Mangelsdorf, Marie and Hereward, James (2018). Submission to the Australian Human Rights Commission, Human Rights and Technology Project. Australia: Australian Human Rights Commission.
Featured
2018
Journal Article
The Sacred Ibis debate: the first test of evolution
Curtis, Caitlin, Millar, Craig D. and Lanbert, David M. (2018). The Sacred Ibis debate: the first test of evolution. PLOS Biology, 16 (9) e2005558, e2005558. doi: 10.1371/journal.pbio.2005558
Featured
2018
Other Outputs
Online genealogy has created an unregulated forensic database for police
Curtis, Caitlin (2018, 08 13). Online genealogy has created an unregulated forensic database for police ABC Online
Featured
2018
Other Outputs
Criminals can’t easily edit their DNA out of forensic databases
Curtis, Caitlin and Hereward, James (2018, 05 11). Criminals can’t easily edit their DNA out of forensic databases The Conversation
Featured
2018
Journal Article
DNA facial prediction could make protecting your privacy more difficult
Curtis, Caitlin and Hereward, James (2018, 05 02). DNA facial prediction could make protecting your privacy more difficult The Conversation
Featured
2018
Other Outputs
New cryptocurrencies could let you control and sell access to your DNA data
Curtis, Caitlin and Hereward, James (2018, 01 23). New cryptocurrencies could let you control and sell access to your DNA data The Conversation
Featured
2017
Other Outputs
It’s time to talk about who can access your digital genomic data
Curtis, Caitlin and Hereward, James (2017, 12 04). It’s time to talk about who can access your digital genomic data The Conversation
Featured
2017
Other Outputs
From the crime scene to the courtroom: the journey of a DNA sample
Curtis, Caitlin and Hereward, James (2017, 08 29). From the crime scene to the courtroom: the journey of a DNA sample The Conversation
Funding
Past funding
Supervision
Availability
- Dr Caitlin Curtis is:
- Available for supervision
Looking for a supervisor? Read our advice on how to choose a supervisor.
Supervision history
Current supervision
-
Doctor Philosophy
A First Nations Cancer Cohort Study
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Gail Garvey
Completed supervision
-
2021
Doctor Philosophy
Privacy-preserving Sharing for Genome-wide Analysis
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Ryan Ko, Professor Xue Li
-
2020
Doctor Philosophy
Invasion History and Evolution of the Asian Tiger Mosquito Aedes albopictus (Skuse, 1894) and the Yellow Fever Mosquito Aedes aegypti (Linnaeus, 1762) in the Indo-Pacific
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr James Hereward, Professor Nigel Beebe
Media
Enquiries
Contact Dr Caitlin Curtis directly for media enquiries about:
- AI ethics
- AI governance and policy
- Ancestry DNA testing
- Artificial intelligence
- Consumer genetic testing
- Genetic privacy
- Genomics
Need help?
For help with finding experts, story ideas and media enquiries, contact our Media team: