Launching the Global Responsible Technology Lab (GRTL)
We are pleased to announce the launch of the Global Responsible Technology Lab (GRTL), founded in February 2026 by Prof. Marc Ratkovic and Dr. Eirliani Abdul Rahman. Established as an interdisciplinary research hub, GRTL brings together researchers, practitioners, and policy actors to advance responsible technology development. Our work is grounded in justice, participation, and real‑world impact. We focus on artificial intelligence, data science, governance, and ethics, examining how emerging technologies shape power, inequality, and public institutions. A core aim of the Lab is to align technological innovation with democratic values and human rights.
Participatory, community‑centered research is a central pillar of our work. Guided by the principle of “participation as justice,” we emphasize the meaningful involvement of communities most affected by technological systems in their design, governance, and evaluation. With a particular focus on the Majority World—including Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East—we move beyond one‑size‑fits‑all approaches toward technologies that reflect local contexts and lived realities. Through collaborations across academia, civil society, and policy, we work to build equitable, accountable, and context‑responsive technology ecosystems.
As such, the first major project in this lab will be Dr. Abdul Rahman's TRAPP project, which focuses on the protection of children in India through the development of a tool that enables law enforcement agencies to counter and prevent child abduction.
Learn more about our research, approach, and opportunities for collaboration on the GRTL webpage.