Nai Lee Kalema
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Nai Lee Kalema | |
|---|---|
| Born | |
| Alma mater | George Washington University (BA) Harvard Extension School (ALM and Graduate Certificate in Social Justice) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Digital governance Digital public infrastructure |
| Institutions | University College London |
| Doctoral advisor | Rainer Kattel and Kate Roll |
Nai Lee Kalema is an American scholar of digital governance. She is affiliated with the UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose (IIPP) at University College London. She is a fellow at the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy.[1]
Early life and education
[edit]Kalema was born in suburban Minnesota to an African-American mother and Ugandan father. She moved to Washington DC for her university studies in English literature at George Washington University. During the studies Kalema discovered herself an interest in African diaspora studies.[2] studies in the US, Latin America and Caribbean Specifically, Kalema later explored in her work connections of all the African cultures globally – including US, Latin America and the Caribbean – and the comparative structures of power affecting the African diaspora in different places.
After the murder of George Floyd, Kalema actively supported the Black Lives Matter movement in Minnesota.[2]
Research in digital governance
[edit]After her studies Kalema worked at MIT and at Harvard Medical School on development policy. She joined University College London as a PhD student.[3] Kalema's main subject of research is Digital public infrastructure and governance of Artificial Intelligence and data governance.
Kalema warned against the perception that data is neutral. She pointed to the fact that interpretation of data is a form of power, even when it is delegated to automated systems. The interpretation of data affects people's lives in a way that is not neutral.[4]
In her research she is focused on the exploitation of the Global South. She identified some countries as digital colonies where large technology multinationals extract data with little effort.[5] She contrasts the challenges to extract data in regions like the EU which are protected by dedicated legislation and some countries of the global South, for example the Philippines, that do not have sufficient countervailing power vis-à-vis large tech companies to protect their citizens from this form of digital extraction.[6] Kalema repeatedly worked on the situation of Uganda in respect of development and digital infrastructure.[7]
At UCL Kalema engaged in conversations on decolonizing public institutions.[8]
Kalema is part of the network Tierra Comun and ESRC Digital Good Network.[9]
References
[edit]- ^ "Nai Lee Kalema". Harvard Kennedy School. Retrieved July 29, 2025.
- ^ a b Justin Beirold (February 1, 2025). "Nai Lee Kalema". Valuable Conversations with UCL IIPP (Podcast). UCL. Retrieved July 29, 2025.
- ^ "Nai Lee Kalema". University College London. Retrieved July 29, 2025.
- ^ "Tequiologías - entrevista Nai Lee Kalema". YouTube. <A+> Alliance. Retrieved July 29, 2025.
- ^ Yalçıntaş, Altuğ; Heise, Arne (2025). Decolonial Narratives in Economics. Edward Elgar Publishing. ISBN 9781035329649. Retrieved July 30, 2025.
Nai Lee Kalema advocates for a decolonial perspective in global digital transformation policy and PSDT, proposing a framework called the decolonial global political economy of digital transformation (GPEDT)
- ^ "Provocation 2 – Nai Lee Kalema" (Podcast). The Open Data Institute. Retrieved July 29, 2025.
- ^ "MIT Students 2017 Cohort @ the RAN Innovation Lab". US AID and Resilient Africa Network. Retrieved July 29, 2025.
- ^ "Nai Lee Kalema on Decolonising Public Administration". UCL. January 24, 2024. Retrieved July 29, 2025.
- ^ "Nai Lee Kalema". Tiera Comun. Retrieved July 29, 2025.