Carolyn Cole is a Research Scientist in VTT's Reliable Intelligence team within the Physical AI research area. She holds a Doctorate of Science from Lappeenranta University of Technology, focusing on responsible design principles for the development and use of AI-augmented systems in decision making contexts. Her expertise lies in quantitative methods and she specializes in the development of AI-augmented analytics, centering on reliable approaches and ethical practices. Recent applications have included technological foresight, social life cycle assessment, alternative economic scenarios, innovation policy, and energy justice. Her research interests cross topics of innovation, technology, social and environmental sustainability, and new economic paradigms.
Prior to VTT, Carolyn's work covered sustainable finance and ESG reporting intiatives. She has previously worked in antitrust economics at NERA Economic Consulting, where she designed and implemented predictive and inferential models for US federal competition policy cases. Carolyn also holds an MSc in Social Policy Research Methods and a BA in Economics & Mathematics.