Kara Kennedy, PhD, is an educator, researcher, and writer in the areas of digital and AI literacy, technology, and science fiction. She believes that technology is for everyone and has seen the pressing need for digital and AI literacy and skill-building across all levels of society. She also believes science fiction is an important avenue for helping to spark interest in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) topics and to imagine a better future.

Her goal is to empower people, especially those in underrepresented groups, to gain confidence and skills in digital technology and artificial intelligence tools so they can not only have a seat at the table, but lead the way in the digital world. Her work as a learning advisor at the University of Canterbury and Manukau Institute of Technology has given her valuable insights into people’s struggles with technology and ways to make it more accessible. She helps bridge the digital divide through her consulting services and delivery of engaging digital and AI skills training.

In the academic sphere, she has published articles on digital and information literacy in Digital Humanities Quarterly and the Asia Pacific Journal of Education, and on the gender gap in Wikipedia in the Women’s Studies Journal (NZ) and She Ji: The Journal of Design, Economics, and Innovation. She is the author of two books—Frank Herbert’s Dune: A Critical Companion and Women’s Agency in the Dune Universe—and several articles on science fiction and fantasy literature. She blogs at kennedyhq.com and dunescholar.com.