Honorary Associate Professor M.G. MichaelPhD (ACU), MA(Hons) (MacqUni), MTheol (SydUni), BTheol (SCD), BA(SydUni), DipProfCouns (AIPC) is a theologian and historian with cross-disciplinary qualifications in the humanities and who introduced the concept of ‘überveillance’ into the privacy and bioethics literature.
Michael brings with him a unique perspective to Information Technology and Computer Science. His formal studies include Ancient History, Theology, General Philosophy, Political Sociology, Ethics, Linguistics, and Government.
Presently he is an Associate Professor in the School of Information Systems and Technology, at the University of Wollongong, Australia. He was previously the coordinator of Information & Communication Security Issues and since 2005 has guest-lectured and tutored in Location-Based Services, IT & Citizen Rights, Principles of eBusiness, and IT & Innovation.
The focus of his current research extends to modern hermeneutics and the Apocalypse of John; the historical antecedents of modern cryptography; the auto-ID trajectory; data protection, privacy and ethics related issues; biometrics, RFID and chip implants; national security and government policy; dataveillance and überveillance; and more broadly the system dynamics between technology and society.
Michael is a member of the American Academy of Religion (AAR). He has been the recipient of a number of scholarships and awards. In 2007 he was invited to deliver a paper at the 29th International Conference of Data Protection and Privacy Commissioners (ubiquitous computing track) in Canada.
He has guest edited the December 2006 volume of Prometheus, several IEEE Technology and Society Magazine issues in 2010-11, an issue for Information Technology Cases (2011) and more recently the Journal of Location-Based Services. He is also the proceedings editor of four national security workshops sponsored by the Australian Research Council.