Are we moving into a new age of water sector management with the help of artificial intelligence (AI)? As with any technology, AI presents exciting opportunities but also dangers.  With real concerns around privacy, decision autonomy, fairness and interpretability, how can we shape the creation of socially responsible algorithms.  

Through case studies, our researchers explore what responsible algorithmic development and policy-making might look like in light of socio-economic and environmental uncertainties.  The project focuses on relevant upcoming governance challenges and opportunities in the European Union and Australia. 

Multi-disciplinary teams from the IWF work within the ANU Algorithmic Futures Policy Lab (AFPL) to catalyze pathways to successfully design technology and policy for an uncertain future, including in the water sector. 

Professor Katherine Daniell, Dr Joseph Guillaume and Hannah Feldman are currently working on the Social Responsibility of Digital Agriculture case study, exploring the role of technology in irrigated agriculture (also termed agriculture 4.0, smart farming, and digital agriculture).  The team worked on a podcast series, including one episode speaking about the lived experiences of irrigation modernization together with analysis of system-wide change in the Murrumbidgee region.