QUT - Academic profiles - Distinguished Professor Jean Burgess

Biography

Jean Burgess is Distinguished Professor of Digital Media in the Digital Media Research Centre (DMRC) and School of Communication. After serving as the DMRC's founding Centre Director from 2015-2020, she became Associate Director of the national ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society, as well as Convenor of its QUT node, in August 2020. Since 2024, she has been Director of the QUT GenAI Lab. Her research focuses on the social implications of digital media and AI technologies, platforms, and cultures, as well as new and innovative methods for studying and improving the public understanding of them. Her latest book is Everyday Data Cultures (Polity Press, 2022), co-authored with ADM+S colleagues Kath Albury, Anthony McCosker and Rowan Wilken. She is a past member of the ARC College of Experts, and an elected Fellow of the International Communication Association, the Australian Academy of Humanities, and the Queensland Academy of Arts and Sciences.

jean.burgess@qut.edu.au

View location details(QUT staff and student access only)

QUT alumni

Please note: I am not currently accepting new research students.

Personal details

Positions

Professor - Digital Media Studies
Faculty of Creative Industries, Education & Social Justice,
School of Communication

Keywords

generative AI, inernet history, digital media, digital methods, AI and society, automation, platforms, algorithmic culture, TikTok, YouTube

Research field

Communication and media studies, Artificial intelligence, Cultural studies

Field of Research code, Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classification (ANZSRC), 2020

Qualifications

PhD (Queensland University of Technology)
M.Phil (University of Queensland)
B. Arts (Hons) (University of Queensland)
B. Mus (Hons) (University of Queensland)

Professional memberships and associations

Fellow, International Communication Association

Fellow, Australian Academy of the Humanities

Fellow, Queensland Academy of Arts and Sciences

Member, Association of Internet Researchers

Member, International Communication Association

Teaching

Research project supervisor, Masters of Digital Communication, 2023-present.

Curriculum development, Masters of Digital Communication, QUT, 2019

Guest lectures across multiple undergraduate and postgraduate units in Creative Industries Faculty and School of Communication

Unit coordinator, KCZ105, Media and Communication Research Methods, QUT & Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2013 & 2014

Unit co-coordinator, KKP001, Entrepeneurship in the Creative Economy, Creative Industries Faculty, QUT, 2010.

Tutor, KXB101 Introduction to Entertainment, QUT, 2010

Course coordinator, MSTU2000 Music Subcultures and the Media, School of English, Media Studies and Art History, University of Queensland, Semester 1, 2004.

Experience

In addition to the full list of partners associated with the ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society (see https://admscentre.org.au ), my community, government and industry partnerships have included:

National Film and Sound Archive
Telstra
Australia Post
Open Data Institute Australian Network
State Library of Queensland
Cooperative Research Centres Association (CRCA)
The Conversation
True Relationships and Reproductive Health
Queensland Department of Community Safety
Eidos Institute
The Australia Council for the Arts
Australian Centre for the Moving Image
Goolarri Media Enterprises
Briz 31
Community Broadcasting Association of Australia
Queensland Museum
Queensland Association for Healthy Communities
Gold Coast City Council

Publications

Matich, P., Richardson, M. & Burgess, J. (2026). Authenticity controversies: Witness media and generative AI imagery. Media, Culture and Society. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/265747
Burgess, J., Bartolo, L., Gray, J., Hutchinson, J., Kaye, D., Matamoros Fernandez, A., Pappalardo, K. & Wikstrom, P. (2025). 'Diversity' as multidisciplinary keyword for the politics of cultural recommender systems in global digital media platforms. International Journal of Cultural Studies, 28(1), 307–315. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/247860
Carlon, D., Burgess, J. & Kasianenko, K. (2025). The lives and afterlives of community-created bots on Twitter: A minor history. Convergence, 31(6), 2006–2024. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/257037
Burgess, J., Carah, N., Angus, D., Obeid, A. & Andrejevic, M. (2024). Why Am I Seeing This Ad? The affordances and limits of automated user-level explanation in Meta's advertising system. New Media and Society, 26(9), 5130–5149. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/243923
Burgess, J., Albury, K., McCosker, A. & Wilken, R. (2022). Everyday Data Cultures. Polity Press. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/230856
Gillett, R., Stardust, Z. & Burgess, J. (2022). Safety for Whom? Investigating How Platforms Frame and Perform Safety and Harm Interventions. Social Media and Society, 8(4). https://eprints.qut.edu.au/237039
Burgess, J., (2021). Platform Studies. In S. Cunningham & D. Craig (Eds.), Creator Culture: An Introduction to Global Social Media Entertainment (pp. 21–38). NYU Press. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/229183
Burgess, J. & Baym, N. (2020). Twitter: A Biography. NYU Press. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/201368
Burgess, J. & Green, J. (2018). YouTube: Online video and participatory culture (2nd Edition) (Digital Media and Society Series). Polity Press. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/215498
Collins, C., Parker, C., Paterson, J., Weatherall, K., Carah, N., Burgess, J. & Angus, D. (2026). Digital duty of care: Policy brief. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/266321

QUT ePrints

For more publications by Jean, explore their research in QUT ePrints (our digital repository).

View more publications

Filter publications:

A complete list of publications is available at: https://www.qut.edu.au/about/our-people/academic-profiles/jean.burgess

Awards

Type: Membership or Fellow of a Learned Academy or Society
Reference year: 2021
Details: Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities

Type: Reviewer, Assessor or Judge
Reference year: 2020-2023
Details: Australian Research Council. Member of the ARC College of Experts (2020-2023)

Type: Editorial Role
Reference year: 2018-2026
Details: Co-editor, International Journal of Cultural Studies, 2018-

Type: University Prize including VC Award
Reference year: 2018
Details: Queensland University of Technology. Recipient of a Vice-Chancellor's Award for Excellence

Type: Keynote or Plenary Speaker
Reference year: 2015
Details: Invited keynote speaker, opening plenary, International Communication Association conference, San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Type: Appointment at External Institution
Reference year: 2013
Details: Microsoft Research| Visiting Researcher, Microsoft Research New England, February-June 2013

Type: Funded Fellowship
Reference year: 2010
Details: ARC| DP1094281, APD, 2010-2012
"New Media and Public Communication: Mapping Australian User-Created Content in Online Social Networks"

Selected research projects

Title: Generative AI and the Future of Academic Writing and Publishing
Primary fund type: CAT 1 - Australian Competitive Grant
Project ID: DP250100074
Start year: 2025
Keywords

Title: Australian Experiences of Algorithmic Culture on TikTok
Primary fund type: CAT 1 - Australian Competitive Grant
Project ID: DP240102939
Start year: 2024
Keywords

Title: ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society (ADMS)
Primary fund type: CAT 1 - Australian Competitive Grant
Project ID: CE200100005
Start year: 2020
Keywords

Title: Using Machine Vision to Explore Instagram's Everyday Promotional Cultures
Primary fund type: CAT 1 - Australian Competitive Grant
Project ID: DP200100519
Start year: 2020
Keywords

Title: Amplifying Public Value: Scholarly Contributions' Impact on Public Debate
Primary fund type: CAT 1 - Australian Competitive Grant
Project ID: LP160100205
Start year: 2016
Keywords

Title: Developing an innovative entertainment-evaluation model to evaluate the efficacy of digital comedy in engaging young men with sexual health knowledge
Primary fund type: CAT 1 - Australian Competitive Grant
Project ID: LP140100226
Start year: 2015
Keywords: Media And Gender; Healthy Sexual Development; Digital Communication

Title: Social media in times of crisis: learning from recent natural disasters to improve future strategies
Primary fund type: CAT 1 - Australian Competitive Grant
Project ID: LP120100627
Start year: 2012
Keywords: Natural Disasters; Social Media; Communication; Media; Internet

Title: Digital Storytelling and Co-Creative Media: The Role of Community Arts and Media in Propagating and Coordinating Population-wide Creative Practice
Primary fund type: CAT 1 - Australian Competitive Grant
Project ID: LP110100127
Start year: 2011
Keywords: Co-Creative Media; Community Cultural Development; Digital Storytelling; Digital Media; Community Arts; Community Broadcasting

Title: New Media and Public Communication: Mapping Australian User-Created Content in Online Social Networks
Primary fund type: CAT 1 - Australian Competitive Grant
Project ID: DP1094281
Start year: 2010
Keywords: User Created Content; New Media; Public Communication; Internet Studies; Social Networks; Web 2

Title: ARC Centre of Excellence - Australian Creative Innovation System
Primary fund type: CAT 1 - Australian Competitive Grant
Project ID: SR0590002
Start year: 2005
Keywords: Creative Industries; Digital Content; Creative Workforce; Intellectual Property; Innovation; International Creative Markerts

Projects listed above are funded by Australian Competitive Grants. Projects funded from other sources are not listed due to confidentiality agreements.

Supervision

Current supervisions

AI-generated content and internet celebrity: A cross-platform analysis
PhD, Principal Supervisor
Other supervisors: Dr Kevin Witzenberger, Dr Phoebe Matich
Compassionate AI: A Care Ethics Approach to Value Alignment in Generative AI
PhD, Mentoring Supervisor
Other supervisors: Dr Aaron Snoswell, Dr Ehsan Dehghan
Generating Truths: Exploring the Intersection of Generative AI and Independent Fact Checking
PhD, Associate Supervisor
Other supervisors: Associate Professor Michelle Riedlinger
Putting the 'You' in 'For You': Understanding User Agency and the Algorithmic Curation of Taste on TikTok
PhD, Associate Supervisor
Other supervisors: Professor Patrik Wikstrom, Dr Ariadna Matamoros Fernandez
Research GenAI Platforms in the Scholarly Economy: A Comparative Walkthrough Analysis
MPhil, Principal Supervisor
Other supervisors: Dr Aaron Snoswell, Dr Kevin Witzenberger
Traditional Chinese Culture Meets Generative AI on Platforms: Rethinking Authenticity in AI-generated Visual Content
PhD, Principal Supervisor
Other supervisors: Dr Kevin Witzenberger, Dr Elif Buse Doyuran

Completed supervisions (Doctorate)

Completed supervisions (Masters by Research)

Supervision topics

The supervisions listed above are only a selection.

Distinguished Professor
Jean Burgess

Biography