Policy Work
Our policy research focuses on identifying the governance challenges raised by Distributed Acoustic Sensing (DAS) and the safeguards needed before it is integrated into cities and public infrastructure.
One area of research maps the organisations currently involved in funding, developing, regulating, and using DAS in the UK, and examines how influence and responsibility are distributed across this network. It has identified a strong dependence on industrial actors and the comparatively peripheral position of citizens. A second area examines the social, ethical, environmental, and technical issues raised by AI-enabled sensing infrastructure. It reviews existing policy, legislation, standards, and guidance to identify where they address these issues, where gaps remain, and what safeguards may be needed for the responsible development and use of DAS.
We also held an online policy workshop as a scoping exercise for our continuing policy engagement. Its aim was to understand which developments in DAS may be of value to different government departments, what information policymakers need about the technology, and which policy areas should be explored in a subsequent workshop. We brought the questions raised through the Citizens’ Panel directly into this discussion, including questions about governance and costs, surveillance and crime, the environment, public health and community, and city infrastructure.
Future plans include developing policy recommendations and holding an in-person policy workshop to examine these governance questions in greater depth.