School of Social and Political Science

Research interests

My research sits at the intersection of Criminology and Science and Technology Studies, drawing theory and methods from both. I study how digital infrastructures become sites where power of different kinds is exerted. Using qualitative, computational, and statistical approaches, my research falls into three strands. 

The first involves large-scale ethnographic studies of digital infrastructure, including a long-term research project on the Tor network (the subject of a book with MIT Press: https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262548182/tor/). I also have ongoing current projects looking at the adoption of Generative AI systems by government and law enforcement, and on the professional practice communities of the network engineers who manage and administer the global Internet.

The second focuses on how digital technologies and infrastructures become used for crime and resistance, drawing on a mix of ethnographic and AI/'data science' approaches to study large qualitative and quantitative datasets. In collaboration with the Cambridge Computer Lab Security Group, I've had a number of recent publications in this vein which explore the increasing industrialisation of cybercrime. This also includes a range of digital research methods development projects, focusing on critical social data science approaches and extending to more recent developments in Generative AI systems.

The third looks at digital infrastructure and state power, including in-depth studies and evaluations of law enforcement interventions (such as FBI takedowns). As part of this, I lead the Influence Government and Influence Policing projects - these explore the growing use of digital influence campaigns by law enforcement and government to shape the behaviour and culture of the public and achieve preventative policy goals.

I draw on a range of theoretical perspectives in my work, most prominently Stuart Hall's cultural studies scholarship and Susan Leigh Star's approaches to studying the social worlds of digital infrastructure.

I am open to supervising PhD students across a range of relevant topics.