Michael Karanicolas

Michael Karanicolas is an Associate Professor of Law and the James S. Palmer Chair in Public Policy & Law at Dalhousie University. Previously, he served as the inaugural Executive Director of the UCLA Institute for Technology, Law & Policy and as the Wikimedia Fellow at Yale Information Society Project, where he remains an affiliated fellow. Prior to his academic career, Michael spent a decade as a human rights advocate, working to develop legal frameworks supporting foundational rights for democracy, including particularly deep engagement in Southeast Asia and the Middle East/North Africa.

His research encompasses a number of thematic areas, but generally revolves around the application of constitutional and human rights principles to emerging technologies. Over the course of his academic career, Michael's work has been supported by a number of institutions, including the National Science Foundation, the International Development Research Council, the Administrative Conference of the United States, the Open Government Partnership, the Caswell Jin Foundation, and UNESCO.