Dr Marion Oswald

Marion's research focuses on the interaction between law and digital technology, and involves multi-disciplinary collaboration and doctrinal, empirical and conceptual methodologies.  Building on her background as a practising lawyer within Government and technology companies, she has developed a particular specialism in the use of digital technologies and big data within policing and the wider public sector.  She regularly writes, speaks and advises on the impacts of new technologies, and the legal, ethical and social issues raised by personal data sharing and the deployment of innovative technology in the public and private sectors, focusing upon administrative and public law and human rights issues.  She has a particular interest in the use of information, Big Data and algorithms to solve public sector problems, and in the challenges to children’s best interests raised by our digital society.

Marion was awarded an MBE in The Queen’s Jubilee Birthday Honours list 2022 for services to digital innovation.

From July 2021 - March 2022, Marion was Specialist Adviser to the Justice and Home Affairs Committee advising the Lords Committee on its inquiry into technologies and the application of the law: https://committees.parliament.uk/work/1272/new-technologies-and-the-application-of-the-law/

From Sep 2021-Sep 23, Marion was appointed to the independent Advisory Board of the Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation, a government expert body focused upon the trustworthy use of data and AI.

From November 2021, Marion will be working part-time for the Turing Institute as Senior Research Associate supporting the Safe and Ethical AI Programme, focused in particular on criminal justice and national security.

Marion is an Associate Fellow of the Royal United Services Institute, Chair of the West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner and West Midlands Police Data Ethics Committee, a member of the New Zealand Police independent advisory panel on emerging technologies, and a Board member of the UKRI Trustworthy Autonomous Systems Hub.  She is an independent member of the Open Rights Group Advisory board. She was a member of the Advisory Board to the Ada Lovelace Institute Ryder Review of the Governance of Biometric Technologies.  She was joint law track chair of the Association of Computing Machinery Fairness, Accountability and Transparency (ACM FAT) Conference 2020 and a member of the Council of Europe Working Group of Experts on Artificial Intelligence and Criminal Law.

Marion was PI and Director of the AHRC-funded 'Observatory for the Monitoring of Data-Driven Approaches to Covid-19' (https://www.omddac.org.uk/).

Marion is Managing Editor of the Journal of Law, Technology and Trust, sits on the Editorial Board of the Journal of Cross-Disciplinary Research in Computational Law, and has guest edited the European Journal of Law and Technology.  She is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and a member of the AHRC's peer review college.

• Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
• Assurance of Third-Party AI Systems for UK National Security: Research Report, Powell, R., Oswald, M. 17 Jan 2024
• Bias, Oswald, M., Paul, A. 6 Feb 2024, Handbook of Digital Criminology, Berlin, Germany, De Gruyter
• Evaluating (semi)-autonomous systems in policing and national security: A new framework based on the concept of ‘intelligence’: A new matrix framework of evaluation and grading, based on lessons from existing processes designed to define and assess ‘intelligence’, Oswald, M., Chambers, L., Paul, A. 11 Jul 2023, TAS '23, New York, US, ACM
• Exploring Police Perspectives on Algorithmic Transparency: A Qualitative Analysis of UK Police Interviews, Zilka, M., Ashurst, C., Chambers, L., Goodman, E., Ugwudike, P., Oswald, M. 30 Oct 2023, EAAMO '23: Proceedings of the 3rd ACM Conference on Equity and Access in Algorithms, Mechanisms, and Optimization, New York, US, ACM
• Privacy Intrusion and National Security in the Age of AI: Assessing proportionality of automated analytics, Janjeva, A., Calder, M., Oswald, M. 23 May 2023
• AI Regulation Policy Paper (CP 728): Response to call for views and evidence, Oswald, M. 23 Sep 2022
• A three-pillar approach to achieving trustworthy and accountable use of AI and emerging technology in policing in England and Wales: Lessons from the West Midlands data ethics model, Oswald, M. 30 Apr 2022, In: European Journal of Law and Technology
• ‘Give Me A Ping, Vasili. One Ping Only’ Why The Success Of Machine Learning Depends On Empowered People, Oswald, M. 2 Mar 2022
• Implications of Emerging Privacy Enhancing Technologies for UK Surveillance Policy, Balston, G., Oswald, M., Harris, A., Janjeva, A. Jul 2022
• Lord Geidt and the Wild West of policing technology governance: How can a resignation improve police technology oversight?, Oswald, M. 25 Jun 2022

• Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
• COVID-19: Observatory for Monitoring Data-Driven Approaches to COVID-19, Oswald, M. (Principal Investigator), UK Research and Innovation, 04/11/20 - 03/11/21, £406,656.00

• Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
• Invited talk: Ethics, law and social implications 2023
• Invited talk: AI: clever, clumsy or clueless? 2023
• Invited talk: AI-NEW DEVELOPMENTS AND CHALLENGES FOR THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM 2023
• Oral presentation: British and Irish Law Education Technology Association (BILETA) Conference 2023 2023
• Organising a conference, workshop, ...: The use of AI in sentencing and the management of offenders 2023
• Organising a conference, workshop, ...: Progressing the UK Government’s Algorithmic Transparency Recording Standard: Police Perspectives 2023
• Oral presentation: Institute of Advanced Legal Studies Information Law and Policy Centre Annual Conference 2022 2022
• Invited talk: Oversight of Police-Use of Surveillance Technology: Workshop hosted by the VUB Chair in Surveillance Studies 2022
• Invited talk: Using Artificial Intelligence in National Security 2022
• Invited talk: Keynote address at 'Responsible AI in Law Enforcement' organised by Oxford University and UNICRI 2022

• James Winters Start Date: 01/10/2023
• David Powell Innovation to implementation: the critical implementation factors in developing a machine learning forecasting tool to predict reoffending in domestic abuse. Start Date: 01/10/2019 End Date: 20/09/2023
• Daria Onitiu Deconstructing the right to privacy considering the impact of fashion recommender systems on an individual's autonomy and identity Start Date: 01/10/2019 End Date: 25/06/2022
• Luke Chambers AI and Machine Learning Nascent Visual Biometrics in Police Intelligence and Criminal Evidence – Impacts on Reliability and Fairness Start Date: 01/10/2021
• Angela Paul Police Use of Data from the Sky: Dissecting the Human Rights Implications Associated with Deploying Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) in Law Enforcement in England and Wales Start Date: 18/01/2021

• Law PhD December 17 2020
• Law BA June 26 1991
• Solicitor (non-practising) 1994
• Member Law Society 1992
• Cert(Mang)
• Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. FHEA