Abdullah Safir

ai, design and social justice | how  to (re)imagine AI from the majority world?

I am an AI ethics and critical design researcher interested in developing responsible, inclusive AI systems that respond to the Majority World/ Global South contexts. I am currently working towards my PhD in Interdisciplinary (AI) Design at the University of Cambridge. I am a member of Cambridge Collective Intelligence and Design (CamCID) Group (led by Dr Ramit Debnath) and Critical Design Studio, Computer Lab (led by Professor Alan Blackwell). Central to my PhD research is the question of epistemic justice: how we could incorporate non-Western ways of knowing while designing sociotechnical interventions with Generative AI? Beyond my PhD  research, I serve as an early career community member at the Centre for Human Inspired AI (CHIA) and contribute to a AI@Cam project around ethically rooted AI for public value.  

I am a Gates Cambridge Scholar (2024), Trinity Hall research scholar (2023), and Commonwealth scholar (2021). I finished my MPhil at the Leverhulme Centre for Future of Intelligence (LCFI), University of Cambridge and worked as a Research Assistant at the same centre after completing my Masters at the Centre for Interdisciplinary Methodologies (CIM), University of Warwick — all focusing on understanding the hurdles to ensure diversity and plurality in AI. Previously, I worked as a researcher at BIGD, BRAC University and co-developed an inclusive Digital Strategy Primer for Bangladesh by collaborating with the country's government and the Digital Pathways initiative, University of Oxford. Through my current research, I call for more inclusive and human-centred AI design, development and policies to reduce AI's colonial harms, particularly in the Global South.

Preferred name: Safir| he/him | CV | Google Scholar | LinkedIn | Twitter | Email: sa2168@cam.ac.uk

Recent news/ updates

January 2025: I am co-convening (with Cherry Benson) the first CHIA Early Career Conference: Collective Generative Futures. [Call for Paper is now out!: Link

January 2025:  Was invited by UNDP Bangladesh for a keynote on (Bangladeshi) cultural sensitivity in Text-to-Image (T2I) Generative AI tools.

January 2025: Was invited to Chittagong University Research and Higher Study Society (CURHS) seminar: Interdisciplinary Perspectives in Higher Studies. 


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