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About

Lupita Svensson is a researcher whose work sits at the critical intersection of social work, public administration, and digital transformation, with a particular focus on how automated decision-making (ADM) reshapes welfare services and professional practice. Her research examines the complex dynamics between human discretion and algorithmic systems in social assistance contexts, interrogating whether digitalization ultimately serves or undermines the values central to public welfare. Her most influential contribution, "Automated decision-making, discretion and public values" (2023), has garnered 26 citations and offers a nuanced case study of two Swedish municipalities, illuminating how automation reshapes the exercise of professional judgment and challenges core public values in social work. Complementing this, her 2020 Swedish-language piece critically questions whether digital automation benefits or damages social assistance practice, drawing on firsthand accounts from caseworkers and supervisors. Her 2022 work further explores how robotic process automation spreads through social work institutions and who drives that diffusion. Together, Svensson's scholarship provides an essential empirical and theoretical foundation for understanding the governance of algorithmic tools in welfare states, making her a significant voice for researchers, policymakers, and practitioners navigating the ethical complexities of digital transformation in public services.