Abdullah Safir
phd candidate @ cambridge, exploring justice for the majority world in AI, ethics and design
I am an AI ethics and critical design researcher, broadly interested in Majority World perspectives in AI. Currently, as a PhD candidate at the University of Cambridge, I investigate epistemic implications of generative AI that can critically inform sociotechnical design coversations in/around AI, particularly in Global South contexts. I work with Cambridge Collective Intelligence and Design (CamCID) Group at the Centre for Human Inspired AI (CHIA) and Critical Design Studio at the Computer Lab. My research has found home in top journals, such as Big Data and Society, and at the same time leading computer science venues, including ACM FAccT and AAAI AIES. I collaborate with academics acorss the world and global organisations, such as Microsoft and UNDP as well as grassroot non-profit and volunteer organisations in the Global South for my research. University of Cambridge has recognised my work as an impactful case study in their annual investment report in 2025, following a research spotlight from my college, Trinty Hall.
Beyond my PhD research, I serve as an early career committee member at CHIA and contribute to a AI@Cam project around ethically rooted AI for public value. I also hold an honorary position of Senior Fellow in Majority World AI at the Tech Global Institute. I am a Gates Cambridge Scholar (2024), Trinity Hall research scholar (2023), and Commonwealth scholar (2021). Previously, I worked and studied for my MPhil in AI Ethics at the Leverhulme Centre for Future of Intelligence (LCFI), University of Cambridge after finishing my Masters at the Centre for Interdisciplinary Methodologies, University of Warwick. Before coming to the UK, I trained as an engineer at BUET and worked as a researcher at BIGD, BRAC University and co-developed a 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 | Email: sa2168@cam.ac.uk
Recent news/ updates
April 2026: Guest lecture at CDH Cultural Heritage Data School. [Link]
March 2026: Guest lecture at Graduate seminar on Ethics in AI, Department of Computer Science, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
March 2026: Guest speaker on global dialogue series on AI, voice and decolonial knowledge organised by Borderlines at Queen Mary University of London. [Link]
February 2026: Spoke at Trinity Hall's Commemoration of Benefactors event.
January 2026: Guest speaker at Youth Digital Cultures Lab @The Pranava Institute at Bengaluru, India.
Research Spotlights
Research impact highlighted on Trinity Hall publications
Research highlighted on Gates Cambridge News
Research highlighted on Gates Cambridge News
Talks/ Media Highlights
Op-ed in Bangladeshi newspaper Prothom Alo highlighting needs for cultural sensitivity in generative AI tools
Was interviewed by Channel S UK on AI Ethics and Design
Was interviewed by Jamuna Television on AI and the Global South Issues
Was interviewed by Jamuna Television on future trajectories of using AI in journalism and how to shape it responsibly, particularly focusing on low resource settings of the Global South
Was interviewed by a renowned Bangladeshi writer and thinker Mahfuz Siddique Himalay on his podcast 'Bubble Ratio'
Was quoted on the leading Bangladeshi news outlet Prothom Alo on whether we should be scared about AI (as a country in the Global South)
Was interviewed by Mr Jhankar Mahbub who is a best-selling author, a tech entrepreneur and runs Programming Hero, a growing ed-tech initiative in Bangladesh