39 Facts About Genevieve Bell

Genevieve Bell is best known for her work at the intersection of cultural practice research and technological development, and for being an industry pioneer of the user experience field.

Genevieve Bell holds the university's Florence Violet McKenzie Chair, and is the first SRI International Engelbart Distinguished Fellow.

Daughter of renowned Australian anthropologist, Diane Bell, Genevieve Bell was born in Sydney and lived in Melbourne, Canberra, and in several Aboriginal Communities in the Northern Territory when she was a child.

In 1990, Genevieve Bell graduated from Bryn Mawr College with a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Philosophy in anthropology.

Genevieve Bell then attended Stanford University where she earned her master's degree and PhD in 1998, both in anthropology.

From 1996 to 1998, Genevieve Bell taught anthropology and Native American Studies at Stanford University.

In 1998, Genevieve Bell was employed by the Intel Corporation to help build out their nascent social-science research competency in the advanced research and development labs.

Genevieve Bell was based at the company's Hillsboro, Oregon campus where she worked as a cultural anthropologist, studying how different cultures around the globe used technology.

Genevieve Bell started Intel's first User Experience Group in 2005, as part of Intel's Digital Home Group.

Genevieve Bell named her an Intel Fellow, their highest technical rank, in November 2008, for her work in the Digital Home Group.

Genevieve Bell rejoined the advanced research and development labs in 2010, when Intel made her the director of their new User Experience Research group.

Genevieve Bell was made an Intel vice president in 2014 and senior fellow in 2016.

In 2012, Genevieve Bell was inducted to the Women in Technology International Hall of Fame and in 2013, she was named Anita Borg's Women of Vision in Leadership.

Genevieve Bell was a Thinker in Residence for South Australia from 2008 to 2010.

Genevieve Bell's visiting appointment was intended to help guide government policy surrounding a new national broadband initiative.

Genevieve Bell conducted ethnographic research and developed new innovative research methods to identify barriers to adoption and drivers around broadband uptake and her final report is available online.

Genevieve Bell is a distinguished professor at the ANU College of Engineering, Computing and Cybernetics.

Genevieve Bell is the university's inaugural appointee of the Florence Violet McKenzie Chair, named in honour of Australia's first female electrical engineer and lifelong proponent of technical education for women.

At the 2016 Advance Awards, Genevieve Bell received the Award for Technology Innovation and Overall 2016 Advance Global Australian Award.

In October 2018, Genevieve Bell was elected as a fellow of the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering.

Additionally, Genevieve Bell was the lead author of the 2023 Rapid Response Information Report on Generative AI for the Minister for Industry and Science.

In January 2019, Genevieve Bell was appointed as an independent non-executive director of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia board.

On 22 January 2020, Genevieve Bell was named the first Engelbart Distinguished Fellow by SRI International.

Shortly after, Genevieve Bell was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia in the 2020 Australia Day Honours for distinguished service to education, particularly to the social sciences and cultural anthropology.

In 2021, Genevieve Bell created the new School of Cybernetics at the ANU and was appointed the inaugural Director.

On 26 September 2023, Genevieve Bell resigned from the Commonwealth Bank board.

Genevieve Bell has held the position since 1 January 2024.

In October 2024, Genevieve Bell announced a major restructure of ANU and a projected deficit of more than $200m.

In December 2024, the Australian Financial Review reported on claims that Genevieve Bell presided over a 'culture of fear'.

Genevieve Bell is a notable public voice in the realms of emerging and historical technology, cybernetics, and artificial intelligence.

Genevieve Bell has given multiple TED and TEDx talks, including "6 Big Ethical Questions About the Future of AI" and "The Value of Boredom".

In October 2017, Genevieve Bell presented the ABC's 2017 Boyer Lectures, interrogating what it means to be human, and Australian, in a digital world.

Genevieve Bell joins the list of prominent Australians selected each year by the ABC since 1959 to present the annual Boyer Lectures and stimulate a national conversation on social, cultural and political issues of contemporary Australian society.

In 2021, Genevieve Bell delivered the IPAA's Garran Oration, the Australian public sector's most prestigious address that honours one of the most prominent Australian Commonwealth public servants, Sir Robert Garran GCMG.

Genevieve Bell delivered the inaugural Ann Moyal Lecture in 2023 in association with the National Library of Australia, a talk given by distinguished speakers on a contemporary topic which draws on interdisciplinary knowledge relating to fields such as science, history, art, anthropology, technological change and more.

Genevieve Bell's lecture explores Australia's Overland Telegraph Line through a cybernetic lens, building on years of innovative research partly funded by Meta and their responsible Metaverse fund.

Alongside her speaking engagements, Genevieve Bell has authored several articles, books, and other publications.

Genevieve Bell's first book, Divining a Digital Future: Mess and Mythology in Ubiquitous Computing, written in collaboration with Paul Dourish, is an exploration of the social and cultural aspects of ubiquitous computing, with a particular focus on the disciplinary and methodological issues that have shaped the ubiquitous computing research agenda.

Genevieve Bell has received a number of awards and fellowships throughout her career in recognition of her work, including:.