Ekaterina’s research interests lie at the intersection of digital sociology and family sociology. She leads the ESRC-funded DomesticAI project that scopes new technologies’ potential to free up time now locked into unpaid domestic labour and measures how willing people are to introduce these technologies into their private lives.
First research findings offering predictions about the transformative potential of domestic automation have been published in PLOS ONE as The future(s) of unpaid work: How susceptible do experts from different backgrounds think the domestic sphere is to automation and Technological Forecasting and Social Change as The future of unpaid work: Estimating the effects of automation on time spent on housework and care work in Japan and the UK.
Looking more broadly at how digital technologies integrate into domestic life she also published a paper in Convergence on ‘It’s not her fault’: Trust through anthropomorphism among young adult Amazon Alexa users.
Hertog’s earlier study of never-married single mothers in Japan that provides an in-depth analysis of Japanese women’s decision-making on childbearing issues and the related value systems was published as a book by Stanford University Press titled Tough Choices: Bearing an Illegitimate Child in Contemporary Japan. Her other research includes analyses of gender differences in time use in East Asia and an investigation of digital dating records from one of Japan’s largest matchmakers to scrutinise partner search processes, identifying the social factors that drive individual success and failure on the Japanese marriage market. She has published in journals such as the Journal of Marriage and Family, Demographic Research, and PLOS ONE.
Parental Control Technologies and Family Dynamics, Future of Unpaid Work, Technology in Everyday Life, Family Sociology, Time Use, Gender Practices in Households
Monitoring Technologies in Family Care, Domestic Automation, Digitalisation of Private lives, Cross-Country Variation in Attitudes to Technology, Gender and Technology
This programme supports research in the sphere of AI & Work.
With mobile devices ubiquitous among young people, it is not surprising that parents are increasingly turning to technology for help in childcare. This project examines monitoring technologies and how parents use them as part of child supervision.
This project explores the introduction of AI technologies to unpaid domestic work and the potential benefits and vulnerabilities related to this.
With Professor Ekaterina Hertog, and Professor Victoria Nash
We welcome Professor Katya Hertog of the OII for the presentation of her paper on young adult users of Amazon's Alexa programme.
10 September 2024
As digital monitoring technologies become an accepted part of the digital parenting toolkit, a new blog from researchers Hertog, Weinstein and Zhao considers if should we be worried about their their long-term impact on children’s digital wellbeing?
15 August 2024
Looking for new reading recommendations for the summer months? The Oxford Internet Institute's faculty, staff, and students share their top picks.
29 April 2024
Five faculty members have received Dieter Schwarz Foundation (DSF) funding, enabling them to begin new 12-month research projects at the Oxford Internet Institute (OII).
8 March 2024
As we mark International Women’s Day, Professor Ekaterina Hertog, spoke to us about AI, the automation in the home and the impact of such technologies on women in the workplace and wider society.
BBC Ideas, 24 July 2024
What impact is monitoring our kids’ locations and online activity having on their childhoods? Prof Ekaterina Hertog and Prof Netta Weinstein share their insights in a new video made in partnership with BBC Ideas and the University of Oxford.
NZZ, 19 May 2024
Mankind has been dreaming of household robots for a long time. Soon it could be time: thanks to AI and emancipation.
iNews, 17 April 2024
Apps and algorithms can now help with bedtimes, meal planning and birthday parties, but Genevieve Roberts is wary of trusting AI with her three children.
DPhil Student
Clementine is a DPhil student at the Oxford Internet Institute. Her research focuses on AI and gender.
DPhil Student
Lily is a DPhil student at the Oxford Internet Institute. Her research focuses on gender inequality and remote work.
DPhil Student
Ziyu Deng is a DPhil student in Information, Communication, and Social Sciences. She is interested in the relationship between offline social environments and the online reproduction and propagation of public opinions.
DPhil Student
Isabel is a DPhil student at the OII studying dating app design.
DPhil Student
Anju is a DPhil student at the Oxford Internet Institute funded by the ESRC Grand Union Doctoral Training Partnership. Her research focuses on voluntary digital disconnection in contexts of ubiquitous connectivity.
This course is designed to give students hands‐on practice gathering qualitative data and provide students with the knowledge and skills to analyse various types of qualitative data analysis collected from both online and offline settings.
This course provides students with the opportunity to engage with the methodological, ethical and philosophical underpinnings of quantitative and qualitative social science research practices.
