Does digital infrastructure expand human freedom?
I study how public institutions convert digital resources — infrastructure, public goods, AI services — into real capabilities and better lives. My answer so far: not by existing. By conversion.
Now: PhD synopsis under supervisor review · Paper 0 (systematic review) in progress · Field immersion (rural India) begins December 2026 · Next milestone: Ethics approval expected H1 2027.
The Idea in 60 Seconds
The idea in 60 seconds
Governments and international organisations increasingly measure digital success at the resource layer: platforms launched, portals live, components published, users onboarded. My research argues this is the wrong layer. Digital resources become valuable only when institutions convert them — when fragmented needs become credible demand signals, when demand is matched with supply under real governance commitments, and when services earn trust, fit workflows, and survive their pilots.
I call the framework for evaluating this conversion the Public Capability Stack (PCS): six layers running from digital resources through demand signals, conversion factors, and governance safeguards to capabilities and life outcomes. It is built bottom-up from primary evidence in the international public sector, and it is deliberately falsifiable — it specifies in advance what would prove it wrong.