Laura Gates is a software engineer, researcher and consultant based at Bath Spa University whose work sits at the intersection of human agency and complex systems. Her background in performance and puppetry research gives her a distinctive lens on software design and human-computer interaction.

She has applied this thinking practically: building and commercialising Obwob, a feedback and impact PWA, and developing a methodology for grounded, TDD-led AI-assisted development using Claude Code. Her approach treats AI tools not as shortcuts but as surfaces that can deepen engineering discipline when properly structured.

Laura advises on human-centred AI integration with a consistent focus: preserving human agency, authorship and flow in environments where humans increasingly share work with non-human systems.