Artificial intelligence (AI) is often framed as a technology problem, but for Associate Professor Sophia Duan, it is much more a people problem.
At La Trobe University’s Business School, Assoc Prof Duan leads research at the intersection of technology, people, and organisations. Her work focuses on a deceptively simple question: why do so many promising technologies fail to deliver real benefits once they leave the lab or pilot phase?
“Over the past 20 years, I’ve shifted from looking at the technology itself, to looking at how people actually use it,” she explains. “The technology is advancing very fast, but a lot of the potential of AI is still not realised because people don’t know how to use it effectively.”
Assoc Prof Duan’s research spans agriculture, retail, mobility, and health, but common patterns emerge across sectors. Again and again, she sees organisations investing in digital tools without the readiness, skills or structures needed to make those tools work.
“The biggest challenge is usually not the technology,” she says. “It’s behavioural change, organisational culture and whether people are ready to adopt and work with these systems.”
Agriculture is a case in point.
In earlier projects, Assoc Prof Duan saw firsthand how digital divides slow adoption, particularly in regional areas. “About 10 years ago, when we were doing some of this work, many farmers were not even using mobile phones regularly,” she says. “So when you introduce more advanced digital tools, there’s a big gap to bridge.”
Rather than treating that gap as a failure, Assoc Prof Duan’s research reframes it as an opportunity. Her approach is grounded in human-centred and co-designed solutions, where technology is shaped around real user needs rather than imposed from the outside.
“AI needs to be designed with people, not just for them... if it doesn’t fit their context, their capability or their daily work, it simply won’t be used.”
From research to policy and practice
A defining feature of Assoc Prof Duan’s work is its strong engagement with industry and government. She leads industry-funded projects and collaborates with a diverse range of partners, ranging from large organisations, such as global biotech company CSL, to First Nations communities, advocacy groups, and government agencies.
Many of these projects feed directly into policy development, and Assoc Prof Duan contributed evidence-based research to Australia’s AI policy white papers in 2022 and 2023, helping inform national conversations around regulation, ethics, and adoption.
Assoc Prof Duan’s work has been recognised nationally, including being named one of Australia’s Top 25 Analytics Leaders in 2022 and a finalist for AI Academic/Researcher of the Year at the Australian AI Awards in 2025.
“It does make an impact, but it takes time,” she says of the work. “Policy change doesn’t happen overnight.”
Her research has also supported organisations such as the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network, generating insight into the barriers small businesses face when trying to adopt digital tools. These findings have informed government initiatives designed to strengthen digital capability and competitiveness.
“Information is valuable,” Assoc Prof Duan says. “Through these reports, the insights go back into advocacy networks and then into government.”
As Associate Dean of Research and Industry Engagement at the La Trobe Business School, Assoc Prof Duan provides strategic leadership in building partnerships and overseeing industry-embedded research. She leads the School’s research, research training, and industry engagement portfolios, supporting research excellence across staff and research centres.
This leadership is grounded in a co-design approach to working with external partners. “The project comes from the organisation,” she explains. “We work closely with partners to co-design the problem and develop solutions that actually work in practice.”
Looking ahead, Assoc Prof Duan sees significant opportunity in scaling digital technology adoption across small and medium-sized enterprises, local councils, and regional industries, particularly in agriculture.
“There’s a real digital divide between metropolitan and regional areas, and between large organisations and small businesses,” she says.
“My goal is to understand how we can uplift digital capability so these businesses can adopt technologies like AI in a responsible, inclusive, and fair way, and thrive in a rapidly changing digital economy.”
That work increasingly includes under-served communities. Assoc Prof Duan is currently working with First Nations communities to support digital literacy and meaningful technology use.
“I can see the gap between the technology and the actual use of the technology by different people. If we can close that gap, then we can really make better use of AI,” she says. “This is what motivates me the most.”
For Assoc Prof Duan, impact is not measured by technology alone, but by whether it changes practice, improves decision-making, and creates inclusive economic opportunity.
“The research has to be grounded in real problems,” she says. “Otherwise, the technology will never reach its potential.”
Connect with Sophia
The evokeAG 2026 conference is set to explore AI. Hear from Assoc Prof Duan during the 'Designing AI for Dirt, Data and Decision-Making' session on 18 February. Get tickets.
