Congratulations to CrimSL PhD student Adebukola (Bukky) Shonibare (Co-Supv: Kamari Clarke and Kelly Hannah-Moffatt) on her appointment as a graduate fellow of the Schwartz Reisman Institute for Technology and Society (SRI) for 2025-26!
In her LinkedIn post of June 10, 2025, Shonibare wrote:
I am deeply honoured and thrilled to be named a 2025–2026 Graduate Fellow of the Schwartz Reisman Institute for Technology and Society (SRI) at the University of Toronto. It is both humbling and inspiring to join a vibrant, interdisciplinary community of scholars dedicated to ensuring that advanced technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) serve human dignity, justice, equity, and, ultimately, positive social impact.
In my PhD research, I am examining the evolving relationship between AI and justice, focusing on the potential of AI-assisted justice for survivors of sexual violence in Nigeria. I am exploring whether, and under what conditions, AI can be responsibly and inclusively leveraged to support evidence collection, preserve testimonial integrity, and navigate rules of admissibility — particularly within legal systems marked by infrastructural, procedural, and socio-cultural barriers. Thus, my research challenges tech-solutionism by not presuming that AI offers a clear or reliable pathway through barriers to justice; instead, it investigates how such technologies are being conceptualized, deployed, and contested within broader frameworks of gendered violence and the pursuit of justice in this digital era.
As part of this research, I am developing "Keepit" — a trauma-informed AI-powered tool that provides sexual violence survivors with a safe, empathetic, and non-judgmental digital space to share their experiences, gain related legal knowledge, and securely save their evidence for future use. By embedding natural language processing (including in local languages), forensic AI, and blockchain-backed chain-of-custody mechanisms, "Keepit" aims to reduce re-traumatization, safeguard survivors’ dignity and autonomy, and bridge the gap between lived experience and legal redress.
My research sits at the intersection of law, technology, ethics, and social justice—core pillars of SRI’s mission. I am therefore drawn to SRI’s commitment to interdisciplinary collaboration, responsible AI, and equitable technological governance. This fellowship offers me an unparalleled opportunity to refine and properly situate my research while bringing "Keepit" to life within a community that values both academic rigour and societal impact.
I am deeply grateful to SRI for believing in the promise of this work, and I look forward to contributing to conversations and initiatives that imagine more just, inclusive, and survivor-centred futures in a technology-driven world.
Thank you to all who continue to support me on this journey, especially my supervisors, Professors Kelly Hannah-Moffat and Kamari Maxine Clarke, as well as everyone at the University of Toronto Centre for Criminology and Sociolegal Studies (CrimSL).
Shonibare is the founder of Invictus Africa, a civic-tech organization that develops, amplifies, and catalyzes the use of rights-based and gender-responsive data to inform inclusive policymaking, equitable resource allocations, transformative programs, and institutional accountability.
She holds a first-class Bachelor of Laws (LL.B) degree from Baze University, Nigeria, and an Executive Master’s degree in Managing Peace and Security in Africa (MPSA) from Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia. She also earned a Master of Laws (LL.M) in International Law and Development from the University of Nottingham, United Kingdom, as a Developing Solutions Scholar, and a Master of Science (MSc) in International Human Rights Law from the University of Oxford, United Kingdom, as an Oxford-Commonwealth Scholar.
Shonibare is an Ashoka Fellow, a Ford Global Fellow, a Mandela Washington Fellow, a Malala Fund Education Champion, as well as an SRI graduate fellow.
SRI announced their latest graduate fellows on June 9, 2025.
Shonibare will join a cohort of 15 outstanding U of T doctoral students within SRI’s interdisciplinary community, all dedicated to ensuring that advanced technologies benefit all of society. Their diverse research interests will enrich SRI’s collaborative environment and support the development of human-centered approaches to the governance of advanced technologies.
SRI fellowships support interdisciplinary research that explores the complex relationships between technology and society—bridging academic fields, advancing critical understanding, and fostering innovative applications for the public good.
SRI is a research and solutions hub dedicated to deepening understanding of technologies, societies, and what it means to be human. SRI integrates research across traditional boundaries and builds practical, implementable solutions that really make a difference.