Responsible design and development of Digital Twins

About the project

Digital Twins (DTs) are an emerging technology that are now applied in different domains, including agriculture and life sciences. As digital technologies, DTs raise social and ethical issues, such as algorithmic biases, epistemological and normative concerns such as inconclusive evidence or unfair outcomes, or issues related to the ownership of the data generated by the DT. Furthermore, the fact that DTs in the life sciences represent living organisms and socio-ecological systems requires that this particular context is considered in DT development in general, and in the way DTs may affect our relation to the environment, to animals, and to our bodies in particular.

In this postdoctoral project I explore the implications of Digital Twins. Building on insights in the field of philosophy of technology, ethics, responsible innovation, critical data studies, and value sensitive design, my project will develop a roadmap for the responsible design of digital twins for the life sciences.