Rafael is PhD Student at NOVA School of Law, and PhD Grantholder at CIES-Iscte, Centre for Research and Studies in Sociology, University Institute of Lisbon. He is Researcher on the project fAIces – Facial Recognition Technologies: Etho-Assemblages and Alternative Futures, coordinated by Helena Machado under a European Research Council (ERC) Advanced Grant and based at CIES-Iscte. Academic background, areas of expertise and research interests: Jurist, PhD candidate in Law, and holder of a Master's degree in Business Law and Technology. He researches the intersection of socio-legal studies of technology, artificial intelligence regulation, algorithmic ethics, and corporate governance. As part of the project fAIces, he investigates how innovation, values (commercial or otherwise), legitimacy, and responsibility are discursively framed by start-ups and tech companies, and how these narratives shape technical decisions, business models, and anticipated futures of facial recognition. Academic Background: he completed a Master's Degree in Business Law and Technology in 2022 from the NOVA School of Law, NOVA University Lisbon; a Postgraduate Certificate in Individual and Procedural Labour Law in 2017 from Faculty of Law of Vitória; a Postgraduate Certificate in Fundamental Rights in 2017 from Brazilian Institute of Criminal Sciences and Ius Gentium Conimbrigae Institute, Faculty of Law, University of Coimbra; a Postgraduate Certificate in Digital Business MBA in 2023 from the University of São Paulo; a Postgraduate Certificate in Digital Law in 2023 from the State University of Rio de Janeiro; and a Bachelor's Degree in Law in 2011 from the Federal University of Espírito Santo. He has been attending the Doctorate in Law programme at the NOVA School of Law, NOVA University Lisbon since 2023.