Adam Ingle is an Assistant Director in the National Security Policy Branch within Australia’s domestic security department, the Department of Home Affairs. His responsibilities include reforming the investigative powers of Australia’s security, law enforcement and intelligence agencies to adapt to present and emerging communications technology and engaging with the tech companies who deliver it.
Adam originally joined the Australian Public Service through the Attorney-General’s Department graduate programme in 2015. There, Adam became the Senior Legal Officer administering Australia’s lawful interception and surveillance framework. In this Department Adam also worked on reforms to anti-corruption legislation and helped modernise the criminal statute of Pacific Island nations.
Adam has undertaken a secondment to the Taskforce to Combat Violent and Extreme Material Online where he advised the Government on how emerging technology, like artificial intelligence, could be used for online safety. He has also been seconded to Australia’s Independent National Security Legalisation Monitor.
Adam holds a Bachelor of Arts (Classics) from Macquarie University (2011) and a Juris Doctor from the University of Sydney (2014). He has recently completed a Master of Public Policy from the Australian National University (2019).
Objectives.
- Adam would like his current work to benefit from the latest thinking on the security implications of emerging technologies (including internet of things, artificial intelligence, 5G and quantum computing). This will assist his continued efforts to create evidence-based policy and help him navigate shifting thresholds between privacy and security.
- Often government only reacts to phenomena that are already well underway. Adam sees the fellowship as a great opportunity to identify trends and be at the forefront of tech issues before their impact is truly felt. This will allow him to draft laws that adequately reflect the problems and promise of new technology and ensure their ethical use by law enforcement and security agencies.
- Another aim is to connect with researchers who understand the wider regulatory, legal and societal challenges associated with the increasing role of personal data for governments and business.
- Adam would also like to be part of a programme that encourages him to think on the structure of regulation itself. Particularly on how the form and process of policy-making can better adapt to rapidly changing technological landscapes.
- Given the global reach of Cambridge, he sees access to the University’s resources, networks and expertise as an excellent opportunity for information exchange between the Australian Public Service and the University. He hopes international and academic perspectives challenge any status-quo thinking he may have developed in the civil service.
