AI & Data Specialist
Ethics, Professionalism, Compliance & Privacy
 

I am an AI and data specialist, remediator, educator, and consultant working at the intersection of technology, ethics, privacy, and professionalism. My work focuses on helping professionals and organizations understand how AI and data systems actually function in practice - and how to use them responsibly, lawfully, and with public trust in mind.

I bring together years of award winning academic research, private and public sector consulting, and public speaking to explore the ethical, legal, and social implications of AI, automation, surveillance-based technologies.

Remediation

I provide professionalism and ethics remediation services, with a particular focus on issues involving AI, data practices, privacy, and PHIPA compliance. My work supports professionals and organizations in addressing concerns in a manner that is structured, proportionate, fair, and aligned with respective professional, legal, and regulatory obligations.

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Remediation involves review of existing practices, documentation, policies, or decision workflows. It also includes identification of areas of ethical or regulatory misalignment, as well as development of clear corrective steps to reduce future risk while supporting/augmenting ongoing practice. Where AI or automated systems are involved, I focus on how these tools are used in practice rather than on technical performance.

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The purpose of my remediation work is to support accountability, restore confidence, and reinforce professional standards in the use of data and emerging technologies to assist professionals and organizations in returning to work.

 

Consulting
I consult with public and private-sector organizations on the responsible use of data and AI systems, with a particular focus on risk, governance, and accountability.

My work includes:

• Identifying ethical, legal, and reputational risks related to AI and automated systems

• Reviewing business plans, AI strategies, and internal policies to identify and address risk

• Supporting organizations to develop clearer, safer, and trustworthy data and AI practices

• Training professionals on the professional, legal, and ethical requirements in their industry

I advocate for trustworthy technology and for the responsible, transparent, and accountable use of data as a means of protecting clients, users, employees, and public confidence.

Academia & Research
I am Principal Investigator of A Day in the Life of Metadata (ADITLOM) - a largescale multidisciplinary investigation team of university researchers from Europe, the UK, the US, and Canada - that investigates how corporations and governments harvest location data from our smartphones in real-time. ADITLOM's goal is to demystify smartphone location data processes as they occur in real-time, and to assist governments and policymakers make more informed decisions about location-based privacy.

The project began as a SSHRC Postdoctoral Research award (2019-22) at the Surveillance Studies Centre, Queen's University and has received over $250,000 in research funds, including Queen's University's Wicked Ideas Award for multidisciplinary research innovation.

I am also a Sociology and Political Science professor, trained in communication studies, media studies, critical data studies, critical security studies, surveillance studies, and the sociology of technology. 

Publishing under the publishing name "Thomas N. Cooke", my work has appeared in leading peer-reviewed academic outputs, including Environment and Planning F: Philosophy, Theory, Models and Practice, International Political Sociology and Surveillance & Society. Along with Dr. Sophia Dingli, I am co-editor of Political Silence: Meanings, Functions, and Ambiguity in the Interventions Series with Routledge Press. 

Podcasting
In my spare time, I co-host What's That Noise?! podcast with my friend Al Coombs, where we explore technology, culture, power, and society through the lenses of confusion, ambiguity, and noise. You can find our episodes on Apple Music, Spotify, and on Podbean.

Voiceover & Narration
For the past decade, I have been provided voiceover and audiobook narration services, particularly in the areas of education, civil society, and social issues.