Maria Sapignoli is a socio-cultural anthropologist. Before joining the Department of Philosophy Piero Martinetti (University of Milan), she spent eight years at the Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology in Germany, first as research fellow in its Law & Anthropology Department and most recently heading a Max Planck Independent Research Group. She is continuing to cooperate with the MPI as Cooperation Partner. She conducts ethnographic research in Southern Africa and within various international organizations. Her area of specialization is legal and institutional anthropology; she has worked on issues related to the rights of Indigenous peoples and their relationship with national and global institutions, where experts develop governance tools in the form of policies, laws, and digital technologies. In recent years, her work has focused on studying the increasing use of artificial intelligence systems in various contexts, particularly in decision-making processes related to social and environmental control and security policies.
