Madeleine Clare Elish is a Senior Research Scientist at Google Research. Previously, she co-founded and led the AI on the Ground Initiative at Data & Society Research Institute, an independent non-profit research organisation focused on the social implications of datacentric technologies and automation.
As a cultural anthropologist, her work examines the impacts of AI and automation on society. She has conducted fieldwork across varied industries and communities, ranging from the Air Force, the driverless car industry, and commercial aviation to precision agriculture and healthcare.
Her research has been published and cited in scholarly journals as well as publications including The New York Times, The Guardian, Wired, and MIT Tech Review. She holds a PhD in Anthropology from Columbia University and an SM in Comparative Media Studies from MIT.