Paul Stemmet
Paul Stemmet is a data scientist and PhD candidate focused on the intersection of technology, labour, and sustainability in emerging markets. His research explores how digital tools—such as AI, remote sensing, and geospatial platforms—can improve waste management systems, empower informal workers, and support inclusive smart city development.
His research investigates how emerging smart city technologies—such as satellite imagery, IoT sensors, and drone systems—are transforming data practices within Cape Town’s urban waste sector. The study explores how these technologies may unintentionally reinforce power imbalances and contribute to the digital exclusion of informal waste labourers. Grounded in critical theory and supported by quantitative analysis using the Five-V data model, the work is developing a hybrid framework that integrates Sociotechnical Systems Theory, Resource-Based Theory, and Data Justice. Early findings suggest that digital infrastructures risk codifying inequality and displacing informal knowledge unless explicitly designed for inclusion."