About me
Kainen Bell is a Ph.D. candidate in Information Sciences at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. His research investigates algorithmic biases and the societal impacts of AI-powered surveillance technologies in Brazil, focusing on Afro-Brazilian communities and their resistance to facial recognition initiatives. Bell studies how digital rights activists and grassroots organizers collaborate to challenge the abuse of AI and facial recognition technologies through anti-surveillance campaigns, advocating for equitable AI governance. In 2025, he conducted a year-long dissertation fieldwork through the Fulbright-Hays Fellowship, documenting resistance movements across Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, and Recife, and exploring how these efforts address issues of privacy, racial justice, and algorithmic accountability.
