Heonuk Ha
Assistant Professor of Political Science The University of Texas at Dallas
Heonuk Ha is an Assistant Professor of Political Science and Public Policy in the School of Economic, Political and Policy Sciences (EPPS) at the University of Texas at Dallas. His research focuses on AI governance, the adoption of AI in the public sector, and the societal impacts of AI across global and U.S. contexts, including federal, state, and local governments. He also applies a range of artificial intelligence and machine learning techniques to advance empirical research in political science, public administration, and public policy.
Research at GRAIL
More about Heonuk
Heonuk Ha is an Assistant Professor of Political Science and Public Policy in the School of Economic, Political and Policy Sciences (EPPS) at the University of Texas at Dallas. His research centers on AI governance, public sector AI adoption, and the societal impacts of AI across global and comparative contexts. He examines how political institutions and bureaucratic capacity shape national AI strategies, ethical frameworks, and regulatory approaches. He has also conducted cross-national analyses comparing AI policies and indices to identify the underlying dimensions of national AI governance capacity.
In the U.S. context, his work investigates the political, institutional, and public drivers of AI policy adoption at the federal, state, and local levels. His projects include analyses of congressional AI legislation, state-level policy diffusion, and municipal AI implementation, incorporating original datasets and text analysis of policy documents and public surveys. Drawing on his expertise in fiscal policy, he also explores how federal agencies leverage AI to improve financial management and digital service delivery. His research has been published or is forthcoming in multiple peer-reviewed journals spanning public policy, technology, and governance.