Technology & Human Rights Fellow (2026-27)
Elena Estavillo Flores is one of Latin America's foremost voices at the intersection of technology, public policy, and human rights. An economist, regulator, and civic entrepreneur, she has built a career dedicated to ensuring that the digital transformation of society serves everyone—not just the privileged few—and that artificial intelligence develops within a framework of ethics, accountability, and gender equity.
She is the founder and CEO of Centro-i for the Society of the Future, an independent think tank working for a technological future that is ethical, responsible, and inclusive. Centro-i is a member of the Global Network of Internet and Society Research Centers, situating it within a worldwide community of institutions advancing research on the social dimensions of the internet and emerging technologies. Through Centro-i, Elena leads policy research, public discourse, and multi-stakeholder initiatives that bridge the gap between technological innovation and its human consequences.
Her policy expertise is grounded in years of hands-on regulatory experience. As a former commissioner at Mexico's Federal Telecommunications Institute (IFT), she fostered digital inclusion as a means for accessing human rights and building a dynamic, competitive industry to bring economic opportunities across the country. During her tenure, she engaged deeply with the ethical consequences of artificial intelligence and digital technologies, and became an advocate for multi-stakeholder governance — a conviction that has shaped all of her subsequent work. The IFT, created through Mexico's landmark 2013 constitutional reform, served as the country's primary regulatory and antitrust authority for telecommunications, broadcasting, and the internet.
On the international stage, Estavillo is a recognized architect of global AI governance. She serves as Secretary General for the Executive Board of the Digital Economy in Mexico, served as Lead Expert for UNESCO's AI Readiness Assessment (RAM) Report for Mexico, and is a member of UNESCO's Women4 Ethical Artificial Intelligence and of Ethical AI Experts Without Borders.
Her contributions to gender equity in the digital sphere have been recognized at the highest international levels. She was named Gender Trendsetter of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), and was also recognized as a 5G Trailblazer by Ericsson. She was appointed as an expert to the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW67), and is co-founder and first chair of Conectadas, winner of the ITU-WSIS Champion Award.
Estavillo is also a prolific board leader and institution-builder. She serves as an independent board member for Tecnológico de Monterrey, as the Mexico chair of the US-Mexico AI Hub for UC San Diego, in addition to serving as Vice-Chair of International Women's Forum Mexico. She is a frequent speaker at global forums including MWC Barcelona, the ITU's WSIS Forum, and the UN CSW, and Chile’s Congreso Futuro.
Her accolades reflect the breadth of her impact. She was a finalist for the Women in AI of the Year – North America Award (2023), was named among the 100 Women in Antitrust by Global Competition Review, and received the MujerTec Award from Tecnológico de Monterrey.
Elena Estavillo holds a Bachelor's degree in Economics from Tecnológico de Monterrey, a Master in Mathematical Economics and a PhD in Economics from the University of Paris, and an Executive Certificate in Management and Leadership from MIT. She is a US Department of State International Visitor Leadership Program Alumna, and a 2023 Fellow of the Harvard Advanced Leadership Initiative.
A speaker, author, and institution-builder, she stands at the forefront of the global effort to ensure that the digital age becomes an era of expanded rights, democracy, justice, peace, and shared prosperity for all.
Fellowship Project: Elena's project reframes personalized commercial targeting as a systemic human-rights and democratic challenge, offering actionable policy pathways to constrain extractive digital power and strengthen liberty and equality.
Surveillance capitalism transforms personal data into tools for personalized pricing, product access, credit conditions, and employment opportunities. Applied continuously across consumption, finance, and labor markets, these practices can reduce disposable income, constrain savings and mobility, and limit long-term personal development. Women and historically marginalized groups are particularly exposed to discriminatory pricing, wage suppression, and restricted job visibility, reinforcing structural inequalities.
Through interdisciplinary analysis combining economics, technology governance, gender studies, and democratic theory, the research will map personalization mechanisms, assess distributional and gendered impacts, and develop governance recommendations.