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PhD projects

AI Governance, Philosophy of AI, Language and AI, AI Ethics

20182024

Research activity per year

Personal profile

Research Interests

Dr. Martin Cunneen’s research investigates the societal impacts of machine intelligence technologies, encompassing fields such as data analytics, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), Natural Language Processing (NLP), Language Theory and robotics. His primary focus lies in addressing the challenges of anticipating and implementing timely and informed governance frameworks to regulate and guide the commercial applications of these transformative technologies.

Leveraging years of professional experience in the technology sector—spanning sustainable technology initiatives, educational technology, community programming projects, and Big Data—Dr. Cunneen’s work explores the intricate relationships between society and AI technologies. His research includes the development of innovative frameworks designed to facilitate multi-stakeholder engagement in assessing AI and socio-technological risks and ethics.

The research carried out by Dr Cunneen is built on an academic foundation bolstered by extensive teaching experience in applied ethics, analytical philosophy, and the philosophy of AI and technology Governance. He has cultivated robust international academic networks, collaborating with large research consortia such as Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) and European Union Horizon research projects. His work adopts an interdisciplinary approach, integrating technical and social science perspectives to address both commercial and societal challenges posed by AI and data innovation.

The lead of the University of Limerick AI-ERA (Ethics, Regulation and Accountability) Research Group

Current Research Projects:

Dr Cunneen has won 1.2 million euros in funding in the past year across different projects.

  1. XTREME: University of Limerick PI on the Horizon Europe 2024 Project XTREME - Mixed Reality Environment for Immersive Experience of Art and Culture and leads UL's XTREME Mixed Reality Research Living Lab
  2. AI-MINDS: PI on the LERO AI-MINDS project (AI-Multi-modal Immersive Nextgen-Agentic Dialogue Synths)
  3. MotiverseP: Co-PI on EU Joint Programme- Neurodegenerative Disease Research on Parkinson’s Therapeutics and Mixed Reality
  4. Supporting partner on UK Turing Fellowship Professor Steve Benford's Somabotics Project (Somabotics: Creatively Embodying Artificial Intelligence) by collaborating on research focusing on the Philosophy of AI, AI and Art, AI Agency, Sense-making and Meaning.

Current Research Supervision

Dr Cunneen currently supervises 7 PhD students and 7 MSc students working on diverse dissertation topics grouped into 7 thematic areas:

1. AI/Data Governance

  • Development of context-informed governance and ethical frameworks for the data and AI development pipelines.
  • Analysis of factors affecting cryptocurrency and terrorist financing.
  • Critical assessment of AdTech, the GDPR, consent and increasingly sophisticated behavioural monetisation business models.
  • Evaluating the impacts of risk analysis using AI in the insurance industry.

2. Climate Risk Mitigation, Data and AI

  • A novel approach to utilising satellite imagery for carbon quantification in soil types.
  • Development and assessment of a citizen decision-support tool for climate risk mitigation using AI and explainable AI (XAI).
  • Analysis of benefits and risks related to smart cities, autonomous vehicles and mixed mobility solutions.
  • Study of the impacts of climate change and extreme weather events on the insurance industry.
  • Exploration of ESG analytics through green statistics.
  • Assessment of Data/AI enterprise and global policies in combating climate change.
  • Data insights from analysing the effects of climate change

3. Extended Reality, Creative Sectors and Governance

  • A critical assessment of the promise and perils of immersive reality innovation and potential commercial applications.
  • Examination of immersive environments as new social spaces
  • Assessment of Extended Reality and Culture and Art

4. Health Technology and AI

  • Supporting research on developing innovative approaches to neurodegenerative illnesses such as Dementia, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's' by using Immersive reality applications.
  • Addressing loneliness and people who can be socially isolated by assessing the opportunities and risks of immersive technologies.

5. Autonomous Vehicles

  • The promise and perils of Autonomous vehicles.
  • Agency, Safety, Ethics regarding Embodied AI and Robotics.

6. The Philosophy of AI

  • The Philosophy of Language and AI

7. Agentic AI, Commercialisation and Anticipatory Governance

  • The Philosophy of AI and Agency, Risk and Ethics

Dr Cunneen’s research and supervisory work reflect a commitment to addressing complex, real-world challenges through an interdisciplinary lens, emphasising actionable solutions and ethical governance in the rapidly evolving data, AI and immersive technologies

Teaching Interests

AI Data Governance and Risk Management

  • Governance Theory: Examining the principles and models for overseeing AI systems and data management, focusing on accountability, transparency, and compliance.
  • Data and AI Risk and Regulation: Addressing potential risks associated with data collection, storage, and usage while ensuring compliance with evolving global regulatory frameworks (GDPR) and the use of AI in increasingly sophisticated commercial applications (AI Act).
  • Privacy and Security: Assessing and critically analysing the development od methods to protect sensitive information and maintain user trust in alignment with privacy laws such as GDPR and CCPA.

Explainable AI and Ethical AI Practices

  • Explainable AI (XAI): Enhancing transparency in machine decision-making by ensuring AI outputs are interpretable and justifiable.
  • Machine Decision-Making: Assessing the ethical implications of autonomous systems and ensuring decisions are fair, non-biased, and beneficial to society.

AI and Emerging Applications

  • Insurtech and Data Ethics: Applying AI to revolutionize the insurance industry while embedding ethical considerations in the use of personal and behavioural data.
  • AI Principles and Frameworks: Establishing foundational guidelines and best practices to ensure ethical, trustworthy, and sustainable AI development.

Innovative Data Ecosystems

  • Data Markets and Exchanges: Exploring the history, creation and regulation of high-value commercial markets where data can be shared and monetised ethically and securely.
  • Data-Centered Circular Economies: Promoting the reuse and sharing of data to minimise waste and sustainably maximise value.

Climate Risk and Sustainable AI

  • Sustainable AI Practices: Designing AI systems that reduce environmental impact by improving energy efficiency and promoting green technologies.
  • Climate Risk Analysis: Leveraging AI to model, predict, and mitigate climate-related risks for enhanced environmental resilience.

Biography

Dr. Cunneen has a strong interest in leveraging AI and technology for social good, with a particular focus on innovation to support climate risk mitigation. He has contributed significantly to the field through his involvement in multiple high-impact, EU-funded Horizon projects.

From 2016 to 2020, he participated in two Horizon projects on Autonomous Vehicles and conducted extensive research on machine decisionality. Building on this experience, from 2021 to 2023, he worked on the Anti-FinTer project, funded by the EU Horizon program. This project, titled “Versatile Artificial Intelligence Investigative Technologies for Revealing Online Cross-Border Financing Activities of Terrorism,” involved developing AI tools for combating terrorism financing and fraud, as well as advancing data forensics research.

Currently, Dr. Cunneen serves as a LERO Funded Investigator (FI) and Co-Principal Investigator (Co-PI) on the EMPOWER project, funded by Science Foundation Ireland (2022–2025). This project focuses on data governance, aiming to develop a data ecosystem that benefits all users while safeguarding the rights of data sharers.

Dr. Cunneen is the University of Limerick's Principal Investigator for the Horizon Europe-funded XTREME project (2024–2027). This initiative explores the development of mixed reality technologies for art and creativity. A central element of the project is a Living Lab based at the Kemmy Business School, which hosts a team of Ph.D. candidates and postdoctoral researchers. The lab focuses on advancing human-centric and ethical approaches to mixed reality design and application.

Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals

In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):

  • SDG 3 - Good Health and Well-being
  • SDG 4 - Quality Education
  • SDG 7 - Affordable and Clean Energy
  • SDG 9 - Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
  • SDG 10 - Reduced Inequalities
  • SDG 11 - Sustainable Cities and Communities
  • SDG 12 - Responsible Consumption and Production
  • SDG 13 - Climate Action
  • SDG 16 - Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
  • SDG 17 - Partnerships for the Goals

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