Researcher & Applied Anthropologist

I am a doctoral research fellow in anthropology at the University of Cape Town and a cohort member supported by the Mozilla Foundation, studying the landscape of fragmented technology, data, artificial intelligence, bias and the ethics of care in Zambia. My journey encompasses living, learning, researching and working in Southern Africa and Western Europe, shaping my interests in social development and research on innovation. I have encountered numerous developmental challenges along the way, some of which I explore through ethnography and ideate through innovative processes. My interests include human-centred innovation and democratising technologies.

ORCID: 0000-0001-5960-929X

My anthropology, cultural, and development studies have fascinated me with paradigms and tools supporting better livelihoods. I’ve immersed myself in research, technology and entrepreneurship spaces to think about how products can be better designed for people. For three years, I was part of a research team at the Institute for Humanities in Africa that considers the intersections of AI in healthcare, the ethics of care in Africa, and the implications of algorithms in regional care infrastructures. Today, the Mozilla Foundation supports my research examining AI’s relationship with Southern African communities.

Research

Artificial intelligence, digital neonatal management, care ethics and medical materiality in Zambia

The doctoral ethnographic project delves into the multifaceted nature of hospitals and medical plurality in Zambia resulting from the integration of digital technology. Focusing on a mobile clinic with telemedicine services established by a Zambian startup, the research explores how innovators customise digital functionality, build patient datasets and employ diagnostic artificial intelligence for prenatal care, collaborating with stakeholders to address healthcare issues. It also analyses the challenges in generalised datasets and inadequate public health facilities to improve care for vulnerable expectant mothers in Sub-Saharan Africa. Additionally, the project examines institutionalised archives that have parallels with curated datasets, shedding light on the history of hospital infrastructure and the history of patient data that determines the state of AI for future diagnostics. In this era of AI-driven technology, the study shows the impact of adaptive solutions on the tangible aspects of medical practices, technologies, and objects within a cultural context, contributing to the fields of digital anthropology, medical materiality, and evolving care dynamics.

Public Engagement

Read

A reflection on the potential of AI to diagnose high-risk prenatal conditions, but its limitation when narrowly relying on biomedical markers and variables for datasets in communities presenting broader treatments and indicators outside of biomedicine.

Indatshana echaza ukuswelakala kwamazwi esayensi awesiNdebele okudingakala ukwandisa imicabango exhumanisa izindimi zethu ezifundweni zesayensi.

An article that explains the lack of scientific terminology in Ndebele and the need to expand on scholarship that links African languages to scientific studies.