From challenging assumptions to advocating for consumer rights and privacy, UMSI PhD student Amina Abdu is always looking for new ways to trouble the status quo. 

Her research, which explores how tech policy is impacted by values, power and law, attempts to measure the assumptions government institutions and organizations use to create policy around technology. 

“I think about how ideas that seem like technical decisions are actually decisions about values,” she says. “And these values are consequential to policy decisions, impacting everyday citizens. My research looks into how we can create processes to account for these assumptions.” 

Abdu, a fourth year PhD candidate, is advised by UMSI assistant professor Abigail Jacobs. Together, Abdu and Jacobs have published numerous papers underscoring the importance of AI governance focusing on values and policy choices, not just the technical decisions behind algorithms. 

Abdu is particularly motivated by problems with real-world policy implications. Through the Federation of American Scientists, she received funding to work with policy experts, turning her research on the quantification of race in algorithmic fairness initiatives into an actionable policy memo. Abdu’s recent line of research on government use of technology has led her to law conferences like the Privacy Law Scholars Conference and the Annual Meeting of the Law and Society Association, where she continues to gain new perspectives on how algorithmic technologies are changing the policy landscape. 

Abdu has long worked in the tech policy field. After graduating with her B.A. in mathematics and economics from Pomona College in Claremont, CA, Abdu spent some time in academia doing empirical health economics research at the Harvard Kennedy School and then in tech policy working on antitrust advocacy at the Consumer Federation of America. 

These experiences, coupled with her strong interest in driving research that helps create better policy, inspired her to pursue her PhD in Information at UMSI. 

“Going down this path and seeing where it takes me has been really exciting,” Abdu says. “I’m excited to start new collaborations and continue learning from others in my cohort, at the school and at other departments, which also offer valuable perspectives.” 

After graduating, Abdu plans to continue working on research that helps guide policymakers to create better algorithmic governance. 

Abdu’s advice for incoming PhD students at UMSI is to follow your interests. 

“I would advise incoming students to really take seriously the work of developing their research taste, especially in your first couple of years,” she says. “I think it's really valuable to know what interests you and to have your own identifiable perspective that can carry you through what might initially seem like different strands of research.”

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Learn more about Amina Abdu’s research and interests by visiting her personal website and her UMSI profile.

Learn more about UMSI’s PhD in Information program.