Researcher · Engineer · Entrepreneur
I study how people and technology shape one another.
I’m Dr Steve J. Bickley, a Brisbane-based researcher and engineer working across applied AI, behavioural economics and complex systems.
At QUT and ARC BITA (opens in a new tab), I explore how people make decisions, adopt technology and adapt to change. As co-founder of Panalogy Lab (opens in a new tab), I also help turn research into useful software and industrial applications.
Queensland University of TechnologyPostdoctoral Research Fellow
ARC BITABehavioural Insights for Technology Adoption
Panalogy LabCo-Founder & CEO · Applied AI R&D
Research and software
QUT research · Future Skills Organisation
I led a national study of AI adoption, bringing behavioural research and stakeholder engagement together in a published report, employer workshops and a practical toolkit for building workforce capability. The working group included representatives from organisations such as Commonwealth Bank, Woolworths Group, the Digital Transformation Agency and COSBOA.
Panalogy Lab · Research software
Co-creating tools to study attitudes and decisions with large language models, and testing how closely their responses reflect human evidence.
Explore SurveyLMPanalogy Lab · Industrial AI
From PLC fault diagnosis with Agent Rung to production modelling and optimisation with Icebreaker: connecting engineering knowledge, live operational data and human decisions.
See the industrial projectsThe questions behind the work
When can AI help us understand people, and where do synthetic responses leave out the variation that matters?
Human-centred AIHow do workers, organisations and institutions build the capabilities to adopt and benefit from new technologies?
Adoption & workTurning archives, interviews and operational information into traceable evidence, computational models and usable tools.
Knowledge & complexityFrom my PhD
My PhD brought behavioural economics and complexity science together through the Constrained Methods Matrix. It’s a framework for thinking through which analytical methods suit a problem and the information available.
The matrix and the thesis
Browse Figures 1–4 
Teaching and exchange
At SEAMEO RETRAC’s International Conference on Leadership and Management in Higher Education, I facilitated invited panels on leadership and entrepreneurship, and the design and assessment of AI and emerging technologies.
Closer to home, I teach research methods, mentor students and Nudgeathon teams, and share practical tools through the ARC BITA Geek Seminar Series.
Teaching, speaking & mentoringPeople and community
I first took part as a student. I now work alongside HDR students, postdocs and colleagues as a domain expert, advisor and coach, helping teams put behavioural science into practice.
The Nudgeathon community
Public writing · The Conversation
In an invited article, I discuss what synthetic respondents can tell us about human behaviour, and what remains difficult to capture.
Read the articleRanked 6th by reads among all QUT-authored articles in the July 2026 reporting period.
Explore the impact and reach of my work →My path has taken me from electrical engineering and industrial project delivery to a PhD in Economics, applied AI research and building a company. I still draw on that engineering experience when I’m deciding how to frame a research problem or build a system.
More about my journey
