Dr Thao Phan wins 2025 Max Crawford Medal for groundbreaking research on race, gender and algorithms
The Australian Internet Observatory congratulates Dr Thao Phan, sociologist at the Australian National University, on receiving the 2025 Max Crawford Medal. Presented by the Australian Academy of the Humanities, Dr Phan is recognised for her pioneering research into how digital platforms algorithmically classify and sort users—often in ways that reinforce racial and gendered inequalities.
Dr Phan’s work challenges the idea that platforms simply deliver targeted ads or personalised content. Her research reveals that machine-learning systems actively infer users’ identities—without their knowledge or consent—by drawing on behavioural data from individuals and their networks. “Most people don’t know that they’re being delivered ads in that way and I don’t think people understand the extent to which we are being socially sorted by platforms,” said Dr Phan. “But it’s not just about you, it’s about people in your network, creating clusters and groupings from the user population. What I’m interested in is understanding the racialised nature of those groups.”
Dr Phan draws attention to how platforms operationalise race through data, often invisibly. “A great example is Facebook,” she explained. “They don’t ask you to identify yourself according to race, but they do infer your race based on your behavioural data and deliver you ads based on those characterisations. Most people don’t know that they’re being delivered ads in that way and I don’t think people understand the extent to which we are being socially sorted by platforms.” The result, she argues, is a digital environment where “the idea you can do anything online as an anonymous subject is completely out the window now.”
Dr Phan works closely with the Australian Internet Observatory to analyse platform data voluntarily donated by Australians under the Ad Observatory project as an affiliate at the ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society at Monash University. She also recently concluded a study on the impacts of commercial drone delivery trials in Logan, Queensland, as a Research Fellow for the ADM+S. “This work has been instrumental in understanding AI innovation and the politics of race in Australia”, she said.
Dr Phan’s research draws on Australia’s unique role in the global tech landscape. “Australia has a long history as a testing ground for colonial science and technologies. Think of the use of Indigenous land for things like British testing of nuclear weapons. But it also has a lot to do with the racial diversity of the population,” she noted. Companies such as Facebook, Spotify, and Tinder have frequently trialled features here before global release—making Australia a key site for studying algorithmic systems in practice.
Her research brings vital attention to the ways in which platform infrastructure encodes and reproduces inequality. These systems, often framed as neutral or objective, shape not only what users see online but how they are seen by others—and the opportunities that follow. Her work continues to explore the invisible architecture of digital profiling, and the critical role of humanities research in interrogating digital power.
The quotes from Dr Phan in this post are drawn from the original article published by the Australian Academy of the Humanities , announcing her as the 2025 Max Crawford Medal recipient. Dr Phan will be formally presented with the Medal at the Academy’s Annual Dinner in Sydney on Thursday, 13 November 2025.