Known as the “Abogamer”, Micaela Mantegna is a lawyer specialized in video games policy, XR, and artificial intelligence ethics; and an activist of gaming as an instrument of social change.
Currently a TED Fellow and an affiliate at the Berkman Klein Center at Harvard, her research focuses on metaverse ethics and governance; generative artificial intelligence, creativity and copyright. Her research topics cover:
- gaming and digital rights
- governance of virtual worlds and the Metaverse
- NFTs and artificial scarcity, *generative AI and copyright law
- ethical implications of AI, gaming, and XR technologies
- streaming as a negative area of intellectual property
- content moderation in gaming environments
- monetization practices
- games industry regulatory challenges
Micaela is a seasoned public speaker, having presented talks and lectures for governments, NGOs and universities in over 28 countries, in conferences like TED, Game Developers Conference (GDC), GamesBeat, RightsCon, Internet Freedom Festival, More Than Just a Game, amongst others.
In her advocacy work, she is the founder of Women In Games Argentina (WIGAr), a non-profit working towards a more inclusive gaming industry; and a Women in Games International (WIGJ) Ambassador, having been distinguished as their 2021 “Outstanding Individual Ambassador of the Year” award, and being named as one of GameIndustry’s 2021 “Gamechangers”.
She holds a Masters on Intellectual Property from the World Intellectual Property Organization/ San Andres University, with a dissertation on Generative AI and copyright. Also, she is the AI Governance and Ethics professor at the Center for Technology and Society (CETyS), and the recipient of the 2017 Google Policy Fellowship for her research on algorithmic governance.
Due to her intersectional expertise on AI ethics, Internet governance and innovation, she was invited by the Argentinian government to collaborate in Argentina's National AI Plan, drafting the AI ethics and regulation chapter.
Her first book "ARTficial: creativity, artificial intelligence and copyright" is currently on press.
As an affiliate at the Berkman Klein Center, she is leading the Video Game Policy Working Group.
