Sandra Wachter

Professor Sandra Wachter is widely recognised as one of the leading voices shaping the global conversation around technology regulation, data sovereignty and the ethical governance of artificial intelligence. Her career sits at the intersection of law, policy and advanced technologies, where she advises governments, international organisations and businesses on how to regulate emerging systems responsibly.

In 2025, she was appointed Humboldt Professor of Technology and Regulation at the Hasso Plattner Institute, supported by a €3.5 million research award from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. Alongside this, she continues her role at the University of Oxford’s Oxford Internet Institute, where she has progressed from Researcher in Data Ethics in 2017 to Professor of Technology and Regulation in 2022. Her work at Oxford includes leading the Governance of Emerging Technologies programme, which explores how legal frameworks can adapt to AI, machine learning, robotics and large-scale data systems.

Before joining Oxford, Professor Wachter held positions across academia and policy. She was a Turing Research Fellow in Data Ethics at The Alan Turing Institute in 2016, a Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, and contributed to public policy at both the Royal Academy of Engineering and the Austrian Federal Ministry of Health. Her early academic career began at the University of Vienna’s Faculty of Law, where she worked as a Research Fellow and Teaching Assistant.

Her influence extends globally through advisory roles with institutions including the World Economic Forum, UNESCO and the European Parliament. Her research focuses on the legal and ethical implications of data-driven technologies, particularly how algorithmic decision-making impacts human rights, privacy and fairness. A core theme of her keynote speeches is data sovereignty, examining how individuals and societies can retain meaningful control over their data in an era of powerful predictive analytics. She is known for pioneering work on explainable AI, algorithmic bias and the concept of a “right to reasonable inferences”, which challenges how personal data is interpreted and used. Through her research, policy work and public speaking, Professor Sandra Wachter continues to define how societies govern data, ensuring technological progress aligns with democratic values and human rights.