Dr Matthew Lariviere

I am a social anthropologist and gerontologist whose research explores the possibilities of digital technology and AI within present and future care arrangements and systems for ageing societies.

In December 2023, I joined the Department of Nursing, Midwifery, and Health at Northumbria University as Associate Professor of Gerontology.

I previously worked as a Lecturer in Social Policy (2021-23) in the School for Policy Studies at the University of Bristol. My research explored older people’s aspirations for digital technology in their everyday lives and care arrangements in England and the role of digitalisation within post-Covid futures for increased human security. In 2023, I edited, Care Technologies for Ageing Societies: An International Comparison (Bristol University Press), with Dr Kate Hamblin to analyse points of convergence and divergence for care technology within policy and practice contexts in the UK, Germany, Canada, Australia, and Japan. With Prof Helen Manchester, I also led the Ageing Futures Research Group (2021-23) to map and strengthen the profile of ageing related research across social sciences, arts, sciences, engineering, and health faculties in Bristol.

Before joining the University of Bristol, I held an ESRC Innovation Fellowship (2018-2021) in the Centre for International Research on Care, Labour and Equalities at the University of Sheffield. The study explored challenges and opportunities for emerging technologies to support the policy and practice goal for people to age in place. In 2020, I received a New Research Pioneers Award from the N8 Research Partnership, a consortium of the eight most research-active universities in the North of England.

During my academic career, I have held several editorial, leadership and consultative roles. I am currently a co-editor (2023-) of the Journal of Global Ageing (Bristol University Press) and a member of the Editorial Advisory Board (2023-) for Quality in Ageing and Older Adults (Emerald Publishing Group). I also serve as an Executive Member of the Sociology of Ageing SIG of the International Sociological Association (2023-). Previously, I served as the Reviews Editor (2020-2022) for the International Journal of Care and Caring (Bristol University Press). I was also the Chair and EU representative (2020-22) for IDIH Global's Inclusive Living Expert Group, an international consortium and fora for digital technology and healthy ageing; Co-Convenor of the European Association of Social Anthropologists’ Age and Generations Network (2020-22); Chair of the Emerging Researchers in Ageing Network of the British Society of Gerontology (2019-22); and a Zinc Mission 3 (Healthy Ageing) Fellow (2019-21) where I supported startups focused on improving health and care in later life. I am an elected Fellow of the Royal Anthropological Institute (FRAI) and a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA).

Deeply committed to interdisciplinary and non-academic engagement, I have presented my work to academics, policy and practice partners, and the public across the UK, Europe, Australia, North America, and East Asia. In 2020, I curated my first exhibition on caring futures with local artists in South Yorkshire. You can learn more about this work here: https://festivalofthemind.sheffield.ac.uk/2020/futurecade/sheffield-carescapes/