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Dr Kutoma Wakunuma

Job: Associate Professor Research and Teaching in Information Systems

Faculty: Computing, Engineering and Media

School/department: School of Computer Science and Informatics

Research group(s): Centre for Computing and Social Responsibility

Address: De Montfort University, The Gateway, Leicester, LE1 9BH, United Kingdom

T: +44 0116 207 (8993)

E: kutoma@dmu.ac.uk

W: https://www.dmu.ac.uk/ccsr

 

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Personal profile

Dr Kutoma Wakunuma is Associate Professor Research and Teaching in Information Systems. She holds a PhD in Information Communication Technologies for Development and Gender. She has worked and continues to work on a wide range of research projects where she has taken on roles of Principal Investigator, Lead Evaluator as well as being part of the coordination team of projects. Before joining DMU, some of her notable research experiences were as Research Fellow attached to the University of Witten/Herdecke in Germany under the Initiativkreis Ruhrgebiet initiative where she was one of three awarded for outstanding research out of sixteen international Research Fellows commissioned on the Fellowship. She had an opportunity to undertake some work experience at Bochum Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Germany which gave great insight into her industry work experience having worked at the Zambia Association of Chambers of Commerce and Industry in her native Zambia. She was also Research Assistant at Sheffield Hallam University before joining DMU as a Research Fellow and going on to be Senior Lecturer before her current Associate Professorship. She is also actively involved in teaching and holds teaching related positions including Module Leadership, Programme Leader in MSc Computing and Deputy Subject Group Leader for the IS Group. Her teaching has involved ICT4D, Computing Ethics, Research Ethics and Professionalism including Responsible Research and Innovation in ICT. She is also heavily involved in PhD Supervision in areas involving ICT4D, Emerging Technologies, Gender, Ethics and RRI. She has also examined several PhD thesis.

Research group affiliations

Centre for Computing and Social Responsibility (CCSR)

Publications and outputs

  • Africa, ChatGPT, and Generative AI Systems: Ethical Benefits, Concerns, and the Need for Governance
    dc.title: Africa, ChatGPT, and Generative AI Systems: Ethical Benefits, Concerns, and the Need for Governance dc.contributor.author: Wakunuma, Kutoma; Eke, Damian dc.description.abstract: This paper examines the impact and implications of ChatGPT and other generative AI technologies within the African context while looking at the ethical benefits and concerns that are particularly pertinent to the continent. Through a robust analysis of ChatGPT and other generative AI systems using established approaches for analysing the ethics of emerging technologies, this paper provides unique ethical benefits and concerns for these systems in the African context. This analysis combined approaches such as anticipatory technology ethics (ATE), ethical impact assessment (EIA), and ethical issues of emerging ICT applications with AI (ETICA) with specific issues from the literature. The findings show that ChatGPT and other generative AI systems raise unique ethical concerns such as bias, intergenerational justice, exploitation of labour and cultural diversity in Africa but also have significant ethical benefits. These ethical concerns and benefits are considered crucial in shaping the design and deployment of ChatGPT and similar technologies responsibly. It further explores the potential applications of ChatGPT in critical domain areas such as education, agriculture, and healthcare, thereby demonstrating the transformative possibilities that these technologies can have on Africa. This paper underscores the critical role of AI governance as Africa increasingly adopts ChatGPT and similar AI systems. It argues that a comprehensive understanding of AI governance is essential not only for maximising the benefits of generative AI systems but also for facilitating a global dialogue. This dialogue aims to foster shared knowledge and insights between the Global North and the Global South, which is important for the development and creation of inclusive and equitable AI policies and practices that can be beneficial for all regions. dc.description: open access article
  • The environment for a digitally enabled circular plastics economy in Africa: lessons from cross-sectional stakeholder engagements
    dc.title: The environment for a digitally enabled circular plastics economy in Africa: lessons from cross-sectional stakeholder engagements dc.contributor.author: Oyinlola, M. A.; Kolade, Oluwaseun; Schröder, Patrick; Odumuyiwa, Victor; Rawn, Barry; Wakunuma, Kutoma; Sharifi, Soroosh; Lendelvo, Selma; Akanmu, Ifeoluwa; Whitehead, Timothy; Mtonga, Radhia; Tijani, Bosun; Abolfathi, Soroush dc.description.abstract: Purpose This paper aims to provide insights into the environment needed for advancing a digitally enabled circular plastic economy in Africa. It explores important technical and social paradigms for the transition. Design/methodology/approach This study adopted an interpretivist paradigm, drawing on thematic analysis on qualitative data from an inter-sectoral engagement with 69 circular economy stakeholders across the continent. Findings The results shows that, while substantial progress has been made with regard to the development and deployment of niche innovations in Africa, the overall progress of circular plastic economy is slowed due to relatively minimal changes at the regime levels as well as pressures from the exogenous landscape. The study highlights that regime changes are crucial for disrupting the entrenched linear plastic economy in developing countries, which is supported by significant sunk investment and corporate state capture. Research limitations/implications The main limitation of this study is with the sample as it uses data collected from five countries. Therefore, while it offers a panoramic view of multi-level synergy of actors and sectors across African countries, it is limited in its scope and ability to illuminate country-specific nuances and peculiarities. Practical implications The study underlines the importance of policy innovations and regulatory changes in order for technologies to have a meaningful contribution to the transition to a circular plastic economy. Originality/value The study makes an important theoretical contribution by using empirical evidence from various African regions to articulate the critical importance of the regime dimension in accelerating the circular economy transition in general, and the circular plastic economy in particular, in Africa. dc.description: The file attached to this record is the author's final peer reviewed version. The Publisher's final version can be found by following the DOI link.
  • Promoting gender equality across the sustainable development goals
    dc.title: Promoting gender equality across the sustainable development goals dc.contributor.author: Filho, Walter Leal; Kovaleva, Marina; Tsani, Stella; Țîrcă, Diana-Mihaela; Shiel, Chris; Dinis, Maria Alzira Pimenta; Nicolau, Melanie; Sima, Mihaela; Fritzen, Barbara; Salvia, Amanda Lange; Minhas, Aprajita; Kozlova, Valerija; Doni, Federica; Spiteri, Jane; Gupta, Tanushka; Wakunuma, Kutoma; Sharma, Mohit; Barbir, Jelena; Shulla, Kalterina; Bhandari, Medani P.; Tripathi, Shiv dc.description.abstract: Gender issues, and gender equality in particular, can be regarded as cross-cutting issues in the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), even though it is unclear how they are taken into account. This study addresses this information gap by performing an assessment of the emphasis on gender issues across all the other 16 SDGs, in addition to SDG5, through a literature review and case study analysis, the basis for the newly developed framework, highlighting specific actions associated to each SDG. The 13 countries addressed in the 16 case studies include China, India, or Australia and illustrate the inclusion of SDG5 into the SDGs. Using an SDG matrix, the SDG targets are analysed. Those where an emphasis on gender equality is important in allowing them to be achieved are listed. The novelty of our approach resides in offering an in-depth analysis of how gender issues interact with the other SDGs, proposing a new analysis framework clearly identifying SDGs 1, 4, 11, 12, 14 and 16 demanding further attention for successful SD gender implementation and illustrating specific areas where further actions may be necessary, which may be used by policy-makers, raising further awareness on gender equality contribution to achieve the SDGs. A set of recommendations aimed at placing gender matters more centrally in the SDGs delivery are presented as a final contribution. These focus on the need for greater awareness and attention to good practices, to achieve successful implementation initiatives. dc.description: open access article
  • Responsible AI in Africa: Challenges and Opportunities
    dc.title: Responsible AI in Africa: Challenges and Opportunities dc.contributor.author: Eke, Damian; Wakunuma, Kutoma; Akintoye, Simi dc.description.abstract: This open access book contributes to the discourse of Responsible Artificial Intelligence (AI) from an African perspective. It is a unique collection that brings together prominent AI scholars to discuss AI ethics from theoretical and practical African perspectives and makes a case for African values, interests, expectations and principles to underpin the design, development and deployment (DDD) of AI in Africa. The book is a first in that it pays attention to the socio-cultural contexts of Responsible AI that is sensitive to African cultures and societies. It makes an important contribution to the global AI ethics discourse that often neglects AI narratives from Africa despite growing evidence of DDD in many domains. Nine original contributions provide useful insights to advance the understanding and implementation of Responsible AI in Africa, including discussions on epistemic injustice of global AI ethics, opportunities and challenges, an examination of AI co-bots and chatbots in an African work space, gender and AI, a consideration of African philosophies such as Ubuntu in the application of AI, African AI policy, and a look towards a future of Responsible AI in Africa. dc.description: open access book
  • The Use of Gendered Chatbots in Nigeria: Critical Perspectives
    dc.title: The Use of Gendered Chatbots in Nigeria: Critical Perspectives dc.contributor.author: Borokini, F.; Wakunuma, Kutoma; Akintoye, S. dc.description.abstract: In a bid to improve service delivery and efficiency in Nigeria, the use of conversational agents such as chatbots capable of providing round the clock responses is growing. This is gaining more traction in the financial sector, particularly in fintechs where there have been significant improvements in the last year. However, not enough research has been conducted on the impact of the gendering of these conversational agents. This is concerning, especially as findings from our research reveal that the majority of chatbots currently deployed in the country are deliberately gendered to appear female, reinforcing already existing gender stereotypes within African societies. With an increase in the deployment of these bots in many other sectors, it is crucial to evaluate the significance of the gendering of these bots to ascertain the effect on gender inequality in Nigeria. dc.description: open access book chapter
  • Towards a socially just gig economy in Kenya: Stakeholder engagement and regulatory processes
    dc.title: Towards a socially just gig economy in Kenya: Stakeholder engagement and regulatory processes dc.contributor.author: Wakunuma, Kutoma; Kwanya, T. dc.description.abstract: Digital platforms are fundamentally changing the world of work. At the click of a button, we can order food or services online to our doorstep in the so-called gig economy. While the platform economy opens immense opportunities for flexible, gainful and convenient entrepreneurship, the precarious livelihoods of workers and service providers often remain unaddressed. In particular, workers from economically developing countries are often subject to repetitive gig work, low levels of job security and high exploitation risks. Kutoma J. Wakunuma and Tom Kwanya have studied the livelihood of Kenyan gig workers, which allows us to better understand the perks and perils of the gig economy in the Global South.
  • Regulation of digital platforms for a socially-just gig economy in Kenya
    dc.title: Regulation of digital platforms for a socially-just gig economy in Kenya dc.contributor.author: Kwanya, T.; Wakunuma, Kutoma dc.description.abstract: Digital platforms are fundamentally changing the world of work, giving way to a new economic model referred to as the ‘gig economy’. Kenya is at the forefront of this gig economy, with a wide range of digital platforms operating and offering workers immense opportunities for flexible, cost-effective and convenient work. On the flipside the precarious livelihoods of workers often remain unaddressed. This study sheds light on challenges gig workers face in Kenya such as platform’s market power concentration, a lack of codified worker’s rights or women facing disadvantages on the job market due to gender-based factors. Furthermore, it gives concrete recommendations that policy makers can draw on to refine a digital platform regulation approach for a more socially-just gig economy in Kenya and other sub-Saharan countries.
  • Towards Shaping the Future of Responsible AI in Africa
    dc.title: Towards Shaping the Future of Responsible AI in Africa dc.contributor.author: Eke, Damian; Wakunuma, Kutoma; Shmidt, Chintu dc.description.abstract: Artificial Intelligence (AI) presents unprecedented opportunities for Africa. Increasingly, AI and other emerging technologies are being deployed in African contexts—healthcare, agriculture, sociopolitical processes, businesses and education—in ways that promise to change cultural dynamics. Despite obvious potential good benefits, AI deployment and implementation raise fundamental questions bordering on human rights, fairness, privacy, bias, discrimination, security, climate change and the future of work which highlight the importance of Responsible AI. However, the growing literature on Responsible AI focuses more on contexts in the Global North whereas African contexts are ignored or largely forgotten. This chapter makes an argument to clarify the importance of Responsible AI that considers African contexts, interests, values, fears, hopes and aspirations. It reviews the current and future AI landscape and then makes recommendations on how the discussions on Responsible AI in and for Africa should be shaped. dc.description: open access book
  • Introducing Responsible AI in Africa
    dc.title: Introducing Responsible AI in Africa dc.contributor.author: Eke, Damian; Wakunuma, Kutoma; Akintoye, Simisola dc.description: open access book
  • Responsible AI, SDGs, and AI Governance in Africa
    dc.title: Responsible AI, SDGs, and AI Governance in Africa dc.contributor.author: Wakunuma, Kutoma; Ogoh, George; Eke, Damian; Akintoye, Simi dc.description.abstract: More than ever before, AI is now an area of national strategic importance. This has become quite evident with the proliferation of national AI strategies since the first was launched in Canada in 2017. There is now an ever-growing body of national AI strategies especially in countries situated in the Global South. AI is seen as a key driver of economic development and the strategies describe how countries plan to exploit AI technologies to achieve national development goals. However, AI technologies also generate problematic and unintended consequences, and the national strategies often describe governance mechanisms for mitigating such issues. As the national development goals of many countries also align with the UN SDGs, this paper explores the relationship between responsible governance of AI, the attainment of the UN SDGs and the implications for African countries. The paper shows that there is a clear link between the development of AI and the attainment of the SDGs. Also, based on an analysis of two AI policy tracking repositories - the OECD AI Policy Observatory and Oxford AI Readiness Index – this paper shows how African countries have lagged behind countries in the Global South in terms of the development of governance structures for AI. This has far-reaching implications for the attainment of the SGDs and the paper provides recommendations in this area.

Click here to view a full listing of Kutoma Wakunuma's publications and outputs.

Research interests/expertise

Dr Wakunuma has an interest in understanding how modern technologies impact society both in the developed and developing world. In particular, she is interested in understanding the role that current and emerging technologies play in the development processes of both developed and developing countries. Having work experience in both these settings, she has developed a keen interest in understanding the ethics of technologies; digitalisation of both the Global South and Global North; gender implications related to accessibility, adoption and use of technologies as well as a keen interest in the UNs Sustainable Development Goals. Her work involves research in:

  • ICT4D
  • Emerging Technologies and Ethics
  • Gender
  • Sustainable Development Goals
  • Civil Society Organisations research
  • Social media
  • Stakeholder evaluation
  • Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI)/Responsible Innovation (RI)

Some of Dr Wakunuma's esteem indicators include but are not limited to:

  • Visiting Lecturer and PhD Supervisor within the Department of Computer and Systems Science at Stockholm University, Sweden
  • Editorial Board Member - Journal of Responsible Technology
  • Editorial Board Member - The Regional Journal of Information and Knowledge Management
  • Independent Expert and Ethics Advisor with the European Commission
  • European Commission proposal evaluator
  • Invited evaluator for South Africa's National Research Foundation
  • External peer reviewer on the Leading Fellows Postdoc (LFP) Programme which is a joint initiative of universities in the Netherlands funded by the EU
  • Reviewer for such journals as: Telecommunications Policy; Information Technology & People; Journal of Information Communication and Ethics in Society; ETHICOMP series conference papers
  • Guest Editor: Journal of Information, Communication & Ethics in Society

Areas of teaching

  • ICT for Development
  • Computer Ethics
  • Research Methods
  • Gender
  • Responsible (Research and) Innovation
  • Privacy and Data Protection

Qualifications

  • PhD - Information Communication Technologies for Development and Gender (Coventry University, UK) 
  • Post-Graduate Certificate in Higher Education (PGCert. Teaching) (De Montfort University, UK)
  • MA - Women’s Studies (Challenges in management and decision-making positions) (Lancaster University, UK)
  • HND - Management Information Systems (Zambia Institute of Management)

Courses taught

  • Research Ethics and Professionalism in Computing (IMAT5262)
  • Responsible Research and Innovation (CTEC5813)
  • ICT for Development (IMAT 3112)

Honours and awards

  • DMU award on Exploring Sustainable Development in Ahmedabad, India, 2019
  • Coventry University PhD full Studentship, 2007
  • The Open Society Institute scholarship award for the Oxford Internet Institute Summer Doctoral Programme at Oxford University, UK, 2006
  • United Nations World Summit on the Information Society Award in Tunis, Tunisia, 2005
  • German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) Scholarship for gender mainstreaming in a cross-cultural context with Foneta Gmbh in Chemnitz, Germany, 2004
  • Initiativkreis Ruhrgebiet Fellowship. One of 3 out of 16 international scholars that was honoured for outstanding research in January 2002
  • An Internet Society award on national network management training at the KEIO University in Yokohama, Japan, 2000
  • German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) Scholarship attend the International Women’s University in Germany, 2000
  • Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA) scholarship with LIFE academy in Sweden on Information Technology Management, 2000
  • International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP) Working Conference award in Cape Town, South Africa, 2000 
  • University of Arizona Women’s Studies support for The Future of Women’s Studies Working Conference in Tucson Arizona, United States of America, 2000

Membership of professional associations and societies

IFIP (International Federation of Information Processing) 9.4

Projects

  • DITCh Plastic project, UKRI/GCRF funded, A multisectoral, international and interdisciplinary project aimed at utilizing digital innovations to accelerate the transition to a circular plastic economy (CPE) in Africa, 2020 - 2021(Co-PI)
  • RRING (Responsible Research and Innovation Networked Globally) Project, EU funded 2018 – 2021 (DMU Principal Investigator)
  • Hypatia project looking at encouraging teenagers especially girls to take up Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects, EU funded, 2015 – 2018 (Principal Evaluator/Consultant)
  • SATORI (Stakeholders Acting Together On the ethical impact assessment of Research and Innovation), EU funded, 2014 - 2017 (DMU Scientific Lead and WP Leader)
  • Network Analysis of Civil Society Organisations Participation in Research Framework Programmes, EU funded tender, 2014 - 2016 (Senior Researcher)
  • GREAT (Governance for Responsible Innovation), EU funded, 2013 (Senior Researcher)
  • CONSIDER (Civil Society Organisations in Designing Research Governance), EU funded, 2012 - 2015 (Part of the coordination team and Senior Researcher)
  • IDEGOV (Identification and Governance of Emerging Ethical Issues in Information Systems), CIGREF funded, 2011 - 2012 (DMU Scientific Lead)
  • ETICA (Ethical Issues of Emerging ICT Applications), EU funded, 2009 - 2011 (Research Fellow and part of the Coordinating Team)

Conference attendance

Among many others

  • IFIP (International Federation of Information Processing) 
  • Ethicomp
  • DSA (Development Studies Association conference)
  • GoNano conference 
  • Digitalisation in Africa: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Technology Development and Justice Conference

Current research students

Current Students
1. Aisha Abubakar - Identity Theft Investigation in Nigeria (1st)
2. Naome Gapara - Adoption of digital technology to increase South Africa's SME profitability and performance (1st)
3. Annabel Mwagalanyi - Caught between people and technology: Understanding the role support volunteers give to female refugees in accessing employment (2nd)
4. Abigail Udoma - eVoting in Nigeria (2nd)
5. Rachel Harris - The Violent Sexual Ethics of 21st Century Patriarchal Techno-Capitalism (2nd)
6. 1 PhD Supervision with Stockholm University - The use of Social Media by Women Entrepreneurs in the Beauty Salon Sector (2nd)
Please note that some of the above titles will alter slightly as the research progresses. Therefore take the titles as pointers to the research thesis under progress.

PhD Completions
1. Anietie Isong - The Influence of New Media Technologies on African Literature (2018 - 04)
2. Tilimbe Jiya - An Evaluation of Stakeholder Engagement in ICT Research Projects (2018 - 09)
3. Samuel Liyala - Exploring Performance Ethnography to illuminate mobile banking Capabilities in Western Kenya: Capability Approach Study (2012)

PhD Examinations
1. Molla Allemu - Impact of Human Activity on Protected Areas: A case study of Nech Sar National Park in Ethiopia (2020)
2. Job Timmermans - Implementing Responsible Research and Innovation in Research Projects (2017)
3. Fahad Naser K. Alqahtani - Identifying the critical factors that impact on the Development of Electronic Government using TOE Framework in Saudi E-Government Context: A Thematic Analysis (2016)
4. Michael Healey - Alienation and Information Communications Technology (2014)
5. Yahya AlHareth - An investigation into the contribution of e-learning to the improvement of higher education opportunities for women in Saudi Arabia (2014)
6. Eric Agyei-Bekoe - Empirical Investigation of the Role of Privacy and Data Protection in the Implementation of Electronic Government in Ghana (2013)

Professional esteem indicators

Information, Communication and Society Journal Reviewer

Information Technologies & International Development Reviewer

Journal of Information, Communication & Ethics in Society Guest Editor, (2011)

ORCID number

0000-0002-8236-3221

kutoma-wakunuma