Megan Nyhan of Insight at UCD features in this month’s 30 Under 30 to watch in tech in the Sunday Business Post Connected magazine. The article reads:

‘With an avid interest in UX and storytelling through digital media, Nyhan has devoted her PhD research to recommendations engines and the algorithms that have come to define our content consumption. Based at the D-Real Centre for Research and Training and the Insight SFI Research Centre for Data Analytics at UCD,  Nyhan aims to develop an ethical framework for design principles for trustworthy AI recommendation systems. Coming in the context of growing user awareness and concern over these algorithms and increasing scrutiny from regulators in Ireland and the EU, her work could support ethics audits of these systems and ultimately make the online world a safer space.’

Megan’s current research is entitled: Ethical Recommendation Algorithms: Developing an ethical framework and design principles for trustworthy AI recommender systems. Megan writes:

‘AI driven recommendation algorithms are profoundly influential in society. They are embedded in widely used applications such as Instagram and TikTok, disseminating content including social media, video or advertising according to user profiles. However, without appropriate ethical frameworks and design principles, they have the potential to lead to online harm, particularly for vulnerable groups. Ethical issues concern inappropriate content, risks to privacy and a lack of algorithmic transparency. In response, the EU and Irish government are developing regulations for AI. However, given the complex nature of recommender systems, there are significant challenges in translating this into implementable design guidelines and ethical principles. This project will develop an ethical framework and design principles for recommender algorithms ensuring the development of trustworthy recommender algorithms, enabling ethics audits and ultimately, will work to protect users from risks of online harm.’