Top
Skip to Content
LOGO(small) - Queen's University Belfast
  • Our facebook
  • Our twitter
  • Our youtube
  • Our instagram
LOGO(large) - Queen's University Belfast

School of

Law

  • Home
  • Study
    • Undergraduate
    • Postgraduate Taught
    • Postgraduate Research
    • Graduate Degrees
    • Why Law at Queen's
    • Student Experience
    • Student Blog
  • Research
    • Research Projects
    • Research Environment
    • Impact and Engagement
    • News
    • Publications
    • Research Students
    • Northern Ireland Legal Quarterly
    • Visiting Scholars
    • Visiting Students
    • Public Lectures
    • Postdoctoral Research
  • Employability
    • Skills Development
    • Legal Placement Module
    • Employer Zone
    • Our Graduates
    • Mooting
    • Alumni Testimonials
    • Legal Practitioners
  • About
    • Location
    • Facilities
    • Diversity and Inclusion
    • Student Law Society
    • Pathways Opportunity Programme
    • Fordham Summer School
  • People
    • Academic Staff
    • Administrative Support
  • News
    • Archive 2019-20
    • Archive 2018-19
    • Archive 2017-18
    • Archive 2016-17
    • Archive 2015-16
  • Events
  • Home
  • Study
    • Undergraduate
    • Postgraduate Taught
    • Postgraduate Research
    • Graduate Degrees
    • Why Law at Queen's
    • Student Experience
    • Student Blog
  • Research
    • Research Projects
    • Research Environment
    • Impact and Engagement
    • News
    • Publications
    • Research Students
    • Northern Ireland Legal Quarterly
    • Visiting Scholars
    • Visiting Students
    • Public Lectures
    • Postdoctoral Research
  • Employability
    • Skills Development
    • Legal Placement Module
    • Employer Zone
    • Our Graduates
    • Mooting
    • Alumni Testimonials
    • Legal Practitioners
  • About
    • Location
    • Facilities
    • Diversity and Inclusion
    • Student Law Society
    • Pathways Opportunity Programme
    • Fordham Summer School
  • People
    • Academic Staff
    • Administrative Support
  • News
    • Archive 2019-20
    • Archive 2018-19
    • Archive 2017-18
    • Archive 2016-17
    • Archive 2015-16
  • Events
  • Our facebook
  • Our twitter
  • Our youtube
In This Section
  • Archive

  • Home
  • School of Law
  • Research
  • News

News

A PhD award that mixes law and computer science, and addresses discrimination   

9 June, 2021

In October 2021, Shania Kirk will be starting a doctorate that combines law and computer science. It’s an exciting move into interdisciplinary work for Shania who completed both her undergraduate and taught postgraduate degrees at QUB Law.

 Shania will be part of the LINAS Doctoral Training Partnership at QUB. LINAS’ cutting-edge research opportunities are made possible by funding of over 1 million pounds from the Leverhulme Trust, with matching studentship funding from Northern Ireland’s Department for the Economy.

Shania’s PhD project will look at how law and regulation might hold the companies who develop artificial intelligence (AI) accountable for unfair and discriminatory decisions.

Her case study will be the exam results algorithm used by the UK government to predict GCSE and A level results during the COVID-19 pandemic. The algorithm triggered public outrage for ‘baking in’ inequality by boosting results in more affluent postcode areas while students in poorer areas had their predicted results downgraded. If this algorithm had been tested for discrimination based on the characteristics currently protected under anti-discrimination law (eg, gender, race, sexual orientation), this would not have prevented the problem that occurred, which was said have a wealth bias.

Shania will argue for a legal obligation on AI developers to consider the risk that a particular algorithm may unfairly disadvantage people based on their socio-economic status.

Shania’s supervisors will be QUB Law’s Dr Ciarán O’Kelly and Dr Deepak Padmanabhan from the School of Electronics, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. Speaking about Shania’s PhD, Dr O’Kelly says:

"This project sits right at the cutting edge of the challenges our societies face as we respond to innovation in AI and specifically in an era when economic inequalities are a matter of great concern. Shania’s project will make a major contribution to how law and regulation can address the potential for discriminatory effects in AI processes beyond protected categories like gender and race. We are very excited to welcome Shania to the programme and very much look forward to seeing the project develop."

 

 

 

Share
Latest News
  • Dr Alessandra Guida's lates book just published by Routledge
    23 January, 2023
  • Book Launch: Intellectual Property Objectives in International Investment Agreements
    12 December, 2022
  • Book Launch: Truth and Transitional Justice
    23 May, 2022
  • Centre for Inclusive Trade Policy Launch
    19 May, 2022
  • Dickson and McCormick edit “The Judicial Mind” in memory of Lord Kerr
    12 April, 2022
News
  • Research
  • Archive
Queen's University Belfast - Logo (small)
Contact Us

Contact


School Of Law

Main Site Tower
University Square
Belfast BT7 1NN

All Enquiries
  • +44(0)28 90975122
  • law-enquiries@qub.ac.uk

GET DIRECTIONS

Mailing List


Keep up to date with the lastest news and events from the School by joining our Mailing List

Quick Links


  • Study
  • Research
  • People
  • About
  • News

Social Media


© Queen's University Belfast 2023
Privacy and cookies
Website accessibility
Freedom of information
Modern slavery statement
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
Manage cookies