Summary
The Brainbox Institute is a consultancy and think tank oriented toward the intersection of technology, law and public policy. I established the Brainbox Institute with a co-founder in 2018.
Why did I establish the Brainbox Institute?
Based on my experience on my prior experience in medico-legal systems, I concluded that relationships are more effective and easily established with large institutions when they understand what you are working towards and where you sit in the policy landscape. I established Brainbox to build a brand and reputation associated with technology policy and regulation and make establishment of these relationships easier.
Brainbox also acted as an administrative and public-facing home for legal research grants I received from the New Zealand Law Foundation to work with various collaborators, specifically projects related to deepfakes and synthetic media, legislation as code, and judgments as data.
Non-governmental public policy
An ongoing area of interest for me is the development of public policy outside government. My interest in this area flows from my experience working in public policy outside of government in medico-legal systems, dispute resolution and access to justice, disability rights, and in human rights-based approaches to content regulation.
Civil society participation in policy-making is a necessary part of the policy process, as well as being desirable and a matter of best practice. In some areas, there are legal requirements to consult with specific groups. For example, disabled peoples’ organisations shadow reporting process under the Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities. Under the Digital Services Act in the European Union, civil society organisations have a specific role in compliance and oversight processes, including assessments of human rights risks.
Shifting to not-for-profit status
My work with Brainbox has always been oriented toward the public interest. Brainbox was initially established as a limited liability company. This provided a basic legal structure without complex administration. It was consistent with a consultancy model, and did not present a barrier at the time to public interest research funding.
In 2024, I stated my intention to transition Brainbox to a not for profit model in order to formalise this commitment to the public interest and to open access to philanthropic funding streams. The foundation will be established in 2025.
Brainbox-related projects
I led a number of projects with the vital support of key collaborators during this time. The following is a brief overview, with more detail provided on subject-specific pages.
deepfakes and synthetic media
law as code
legislation as code
rules as code
New Zealand Law Foundation
Action Coalition on Meaningful Transparency (ACT)
artificial intelligence
Automated systems
NZ AI Policy Tracker
disinformation and DPMC
judgments as data and OpenLaw NZ
digital identity 1