Paola Ricaurte is a full professor at Tecnológico de Monterrey and a faculty associate at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University. Her work, grounded in a commitment to global justice, bridges scholarly research, activism, policymaking, and innovation. She critically examines sociotechnical systems, advocates for their regulation and democratic governance, and contributes to the development of feminist, decolonial, community-centered AI technologies that respect human rights, the environment, and the commons.
Paola’s academic work challenges traditional notions of knowledge production, advancing the decolonization of knowledge through open networks and institutional transformation. She embraces pluriversality, elevates women’s knowledge, and amplifies non-Western epistemologies and voices. At the Berkman Klein Center, she explores the complex entanglements between technology, intersectionality, coloniality, and power. Together with Mayo Fuster and Catherine D’Ignazio, she coordinates the FemTech Futures Working Group, fostering networks of care to support those who create and shape technology. She also participates in the Race+Tech+Media Working Group, led by Jenny Korn and Roslyn Satchel, which examines the intersections of race research, art, practice, and daily life.
Paola is co-founder, with Nick Couldry and Ulises Mejías, of Tierra Común, a network of academics, practitioners, and activists dedicated to decolonizing data. The collective volume Resisting Data Colonialism highlights the contributions of its members and allies in theorizing and resisting data colonialism. She also co-founded the Feminist Decolonial Coalition for Digital and Environmental Justice alongside feminist human rights activists, fostering dialogue and shared agendas between land defenders and digital rights advocates. Through the project Tramas, they examine case studies across Latin America to analyze the multidimensional impacts of AI throughout its lifecycle. In collaboration with Sursiendo, a feminist digital rights organization in Mexico, she co-developed the project Tecnoafecciones, which highlights the relational and affective nature of technology. The initiative produces workshops, educational resources, and public awareness campaigns on the social and environmental impacts of technological innovation.
Paola leads the Latin American Feminist AI Research Network, supporting multidisciplinary, women-led teams in developing AI technologies rooted in feminist values and centering the needs of local communities. After a successful first phase (2021-2024), the network’s second phase (2025–2027), supported by the International Development Research Centre, will grant 600K CAD over two years to advance feminist AI in Latin America. This work draws inspiration from the Design Justice Network principles, the De|Center’s Design from the Margins framework, the Designs for the Pluriverse framework, and feminist and decolonial methodologies.
Paola contributes her expertise to several international expert committees, including the Global Index on Responsible AI (GRAI), the OECD Global Partnership on AI (GPAI), UNESCO’s AI Ethics Experts Without Borders (AIEB), and Women for Ethical AI (W4EAI). She has co-led major policy initiatives to promote equality, diversity, and justice in AI ecosystems. Among her key policy contributions are the Recommendation for a Human Rights–Centered AI Policy in Mexico, the report Towards Substantive Equality in Artificial Intelligence: Transformative AI Policy for Gender Equality and Diversity (and its companion Guide for Implementation, GPAI 2024), the UNESCO Women for Ethical AI: outlook study on artificial intelligence and gender (2024), and the UNESCO’s AI and Inequalities report (2025).
