Sara Polak

Research Interests

Sara works on the assumption that technological progress fails when it forgets human realities. A proponent of archaeopunk, she uses a mix of archaeology, anthropology and emerging technologies (#ai, #blockchain, #xr etc.) to expose recurring patterns in innovation, collapse, and adaptation.

She leads interdisciplinary research at the Czech Technical University and builds applied platforms for decentralised science (Humanities Engineering Network), cultural heritage as a playable system (Culture Quest), and historically grounded tech transformation (Mobilis Institute).

A Research associate at the School of Archaeology, Oxford, a Royal Society of the Arts Fellow, former Oxford Visiting Research Fellow with a background in UK and US tech, her work combines AI, blockchain, and immersive technologies to test how societies actually absorb change.

She is recognised by Forbes 30 Under 30 and as a 2022 Top Innovator and by the Business Revolution Award from the Department of International Trade in 2020.