The efficiency paradox in EU data centre policy
8 May 2026
New EU reporting rules for data centre energy and water use may look like progress, but loopholes risk undermining genuine environmental accountability.
Who we are
The Oxford Internet Institute (OII) is a multidisciplinary research and teaching department at the University of Oxford, dedicated to exploring the implications of emerging technologies for how people live, work and govern.
Latest news
Friendly AI chatbots make more mistakes and tell people what they want to hear, study finds
29 April 2026
New Oxford research shows that training chatbots to sound warmer makes them up to 30% less accurate, and 40% more likely to validate users' false beliefs.
Why Europe Needs Two Kinds of Digital Sovereignty
24 April 2026
Whether Europe shapes the next technological paradigm or simply inherits it depends on one overlooked distinction.
What we do
We examine the opportunities and challenges posed by transformative innovations such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, digital platforms, and autonomous agents.
Next events
OII Pride Lecture 2026
With Dr Ewan Soubutts and Lucas LaRochelle
13:00 - 15:00, Schwarzman Centre
"Twink Death - A Deep-dive Into the Sociotechnical Relationship Between Ageing and Queerness Online" with Dr Ewan Soubutts and title tbc with Lucas LaRochelle
Network Canvas in the Cloud: Advances in Social Network Data Collection
With Dr Bernie Hogan and Joshua Melville
16:00 - 17:00, Schwarzman Centre
We introduce Network Canvas Fresco, including an online form builder, state-of-the-art family tree collection, new interfaces for efficient network data collection, multi-user projects, 2-factor authentication and extensive look and feel upgrades
OII 25th Anniversary Public Lecture. Dreaming of a Networked World: Reflections on the Political Economy of the Internet
With Dr danah boyd
17:30 - 19:30, Mathematical Institute
In this talk, danah will weave through internet pasts, presents, and future to shed light on the good, bad, and ugly so that we may leverage our knowledge of what happened in pursuit of a more just and generous future.
How we work
Our work is multidisciplinary and multi-method. We bring together diverse academic traditions to study the digital age through qualitative, quantitative and computational approaches.
Four graduate degrees
Our impact
Our work underpins teaching, policy and practice, generating analysis, evidence-based insights and practical tools that support informed and positive change.
Fairer gig work
With gig work rapidly expanding, how can research help make the platform economy fairer for workers?
Unlocking innovation through data access
How data concentration by dominant digital firms affects competition and innovation.
Teens and screens
The challenge: is screen time really harmful?
Latest projects
Stewardship of Privacy-Enhancing Technologies
The Synthetic Society Lab aims to improve how we research, access, and use sensitive human data. The fellowship will advance an evidence-based science of privacy engineering to make research using digital traces safe and reliable.
Worker Voice and AI Adoption
This project investigates how worker representation in German firms shapes AI use and adoption, asking whether employee voice at firms can steer AI toward complementing workers rather than automating them.
The Digital Lives of Care-experienced Children
This project investigates how digital skills develop in the absence of traditional family support structures and aims to identify any critical and overlooked gaps that emerge.
Latest report
By Femke de Rijk and Robert Prey
A new report from the Oxford Internet Institute and the University of Groningen identifies the 'streaming paradox' with evidence from five countries - Brazil, Chile, the Netherlands, Nigeria and South Korea.
Press coverage
Don’t fight AI, HSBC CEO tells staff as banks begin job cuts
Reuters, 20 May 2026
Dr Fabian Braesemann was quoted in Reuters as major banks including HSBC and Standard Chartered began signalling job cuts driven by AI adoption.
Digital Aliens – The new inequality
ARTE, 18 May 2026
Prof. Sandra Wachter shares her perspective about why AI regulation isn’t a barrier to ai innovation but rather the foundation for developing a technology that puts people first.
The Filipino virtual assistants behind LinkedIn’s “thought leadership” content mill
Rest of World, 18 May 2026
For $7 an hour, virtual assistants use AI tools to write LinkedIn posts and comments on behalf of Western executives. The OII's Mark Graham comments.
