Staff Profile

Ayça Atabey is a Lecturer in Information Technology/Data Law at Newcastle Law School, where she is convenor of the Law and Emerging Technologies Research Group. She conducts interdisciplinary research at the intersection of digital regulation and human computer interaction. Her research focuses on human rights, data protection, privacy and the governance of AI and emerging technologies, with particular attention to vulnerable groups such as children and the elderly. Her work examines fairness, transparency, agency and participatory governance, particularly in relation to AI in education and health sectors. She also conducts participatory research with children to inform child-centred AI design and governance, particularly in AI use in educational settings. Ayça is also a qualified solicitor in England and Wales and a lawyer in Türkiye.

Ayça holds a PhD from the University of Edinburgh, where her doctoral research focused on data protection law and fairness in the design of child-facing AI systems. She has held teaching and research roles at the University of Edinburgh and Istanbul Bilgi University. She has also advised international organisations and NGOs, and her research and consultancy experience includes work with UN Women, the Council of Europe and the Digital Futures for Children centre, a joint research centre of LSE and the 5Rights Foundation. She received The Alan Turing Institute’s PhD Enrichment Award with her work on fairness by design in AI systems, through which she worked with its Children’s Rights and AI team on child-centred AI and international legal frameworks.