Project Description

Home / Members / Graduate Students / JP Mann

RESEARCH AREAS:

  • Policy

  • AI/Cybersecurity

  • Misinformation

CONTACT:

  • jmann89@uwo.ca

JP MANN

Doctoral Student;
Faculty of Information & Media Studies, Western University

I am a PhD student at the Faculty of Information and Media Studies, where my research focuses on policy issues related to artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, auto theft, misinformation, and the right to repair. I hold an MSc in Business Analytics from the Ivey Business School, along with two undergraduate degrees: a BSc in Behaviour, Cognition, and Neuroscience, and a BComm in Business Administration with specializations in Supply Chain and Data Analytics, as well as Finance.
In addition to my academic pursuits, I have been engaged in campus service in the past and present. I have served on the Graduate Education Council (GEC) and the Senate Committee for University Planning (SCUP) and have been President of the Library and Information Science Doctoral Students Association.

I primarily explore the intersections between existing legislative frameworks, such as Canada’s PIPEDA, the European Union’s GDPR, and California’s CCPA, and the rapid advancements in cybersecurity and AI within the automotive industry. My research critically assesses the limitations of current legal protections, aiming to identify regulatory gaps and develop targeted policy recommendations to address risks associated with remote hacking, vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communications, and data breaches.

Additionally, my research has delved into the rhetoric surrounding repair policies, particularly how security concerns are often leveraged to justify restrictive practices in the automotive and agricultural sectors. This rhetoric also affects other industries, including consumer electronics like smartphones and laptops. My findings suggest that security and reparability are not mutually exclusive but can be effectively integrated into product design. However, corporations frequently obstruct repairability through planned obsolescence, prioritizing profit margins over sustainable and consumer-friendly practices.

I have also conducted other areas of research. In my master’s, I have written and published an industry analysis on the ethical implications of AI, machine learning, and Big Data, focusing on questions of fairness, accountability, and transparency. Recently, I have studied social media commentary on First Amendment auditors in libraries, revealing tensions between public accountability, free speech, and library staff responsibilities. As well as exploring how pseudoscience is weaponized to undermine credible sources, spread misinformation, manipulate public opinion, and threaten democratic processes.

Torabi, S., & Mann, J. (2025). Becoming, Not Being: Rethinking Mental Illness at the Crossroads of Videogame Representation. Proceedings of DiGRA 2024 Conference. (Forthcoming)

 

Mann, J., & Nau, C. (2025) Democracy in Retrograde: The Allure and Danger of Pseudoscientific and Superstitious Perspectives on Politics. Society for Studies of Social Science (4S). (Forthcoming)

Mann, J., & Centivany, A. (2024). Securing Repair: Examining Cybersecurity’s Influence on the Right to Repair. Proceedings of the Association for Information Science and Technology, 61(1), 1015-1017.