Dr Shuhao Ma

Lecturer

School: Computer Science

Shuhao Ma is an HCI and design researcher and lecturer in computer science at Northumbria University. His research sits at the intersection of design, HCI, and critical computing, with a broader interest in social justice and sustainability. He examines how emerging technologies reshape work, participation, and everyday life and explores how design can contribute to more just and sustainable socio-technical futures. His work has been published primarily at CHI, DIS, CSCW, and leading design venues.

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Research Themes and Scholarly Interests

Labour, Technology and Design Politics: Examining how digital platforms, AI and automation reshape labour, and how design influences workers’ value, agency, rights and responsibilities.
Participatory, Speculative and Research through-Design: Using participatory design, co-design, speculative design and service design to investigate real-world issues and collectively imagine alternative technological futures.
Just and Sustainable Technological Futures: Critically investigating the social, economic and environmental implications of emerging technologies, with particular attention to social justice, citizen participation, inclusion and sustainability.

Key Publications

Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
Precision Medicine in Practice: What Role for HCI?, Sun, Y., Ma, S., McLoughlin, W., Kim, B., Zhao, M. 5 Jul 2026, IH '26: Proceedings of the 2026 ACM Interactive Health Conference, New York, US, ACM
Revisiting Worker-Centered Design: Tensions, Blind Spots, and Action Spaces, Ma, S., Zimmerman, J., Nisi, V., Nunes, N. 13 Apr 2026, CHI '26: Proceedings of the 2026 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, New York, US, ACM
Speculating Migrant Possible Worlds through Magic Machines, Nisi, V., Bala, P., Cesário, V., Ma, S., Nunes, N. 1 Nov 2025, In: Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction
Speculative Job Design: Probing Alternative Opportunities for Gig Workers in an Automated Future, Ma, S., Liu, Z., Nisi, V., Fox, S., Jardim Nunes, N. 26 Apr 2025, CHI '25: Proceedings of the 2025 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing System, New York, US, ACM
"My Sense of Morality Leads to My Suffering, Battling, and Arguing": The Role of Platform Designers in (Un)Deciding Gig Worker Issues, Ma, S., Zimmerman, J., Fox, S., Nisi, V., Jardim Nunes, N. 1 Jul 2024, DIS '24: Proceedings of the 2024 ACM Designing Interactive Systems Conference, New York, US, ACM
Uncovering Gig Worker-Centered Design Opportunities in Food Delivery Work, Ma, S., Bala, P., Nisi, V., Zimmerman, J., Nunes, N. 10 Jul 2023, DIS '23: Proceedings of the 2023 ACM Designing Interactive Systems Conference, New York, NY, United States, ACM