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Digital Human Twins – Our Future Data Selves
2021 – 2027

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Digital Human Twins – Our Future Data Selves is a practice-as-research initiative led by Ghislaine Boddington (2021-27), exploring and developing a personalised digital human twin, an AI hybrid biotwin, a digital counterpart that grows, learns, and evolves alongside their human partners, that supports and guidance from birth and beyond death.

These digital twins are conceived to offer a unique blend of technological innovation and human experience, linked to AI and real-time biometrics. They push the boundaries of personal and professional development, health monitoring and identity management, while extending human presence far beyond physical limitations.

 

Phase 1 of the project (2021-24) focused on the benefits and challenges of digital human twins, examining virtual body interfaces, growth and learning, life advice, collaboration, and posthumous representation. This phrase also addressed the convergence of digital human twins from various sectors - such as healthcare, medical, fitness, military, entertainment and workplace - and considered the potential of cross sectoral development. Through ongoing expert knowledge exchanges and the growing options for amalgamated development and platform interoperability the project is exploring and critically evaluating the positives and negatives of emergent models, currently and for the future.

 

This project builds on Ghislaine Boddington’s decades of research and creative practice into the representation of self in virtual and physical (hybrid) environments, a body of work that has included innovative public facing installations and immersion experiences, collaborations between academia and industry, and extensive knowledge exchange. This project continues to foster a collaborative environment that bridges academic enquiry with practical application, advancing understanding across a range of disciplines.

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Research and Development
 

The project team is developing a living report, based on expert inputs and deep dive research across 2022-24, which will guide future developments through 2025-27.
The Digital Human Twins - our future data selves programme (2021-27) is set to deliver a range of outputs, including an edited academic journal (open call), expert round tables, public discussions, symposiums, blogs posts, journal articles, a radio documentary and an interactive AR/holographic installation. The project outputs are designed to spark a range of discussions and create affiliations, partnerships, and alliances across the academic, industry and public sphere.


The research for Digital Human Twins - our future data selves has been implemented using four key pillars:


Self & Identity

This pillar explores the transformative potential of digital twins in shaping and enhancing personal identity by mirroring and augmenting human characteristics. It delves into how individuals can maintain their individuality while benefiting from the continuous growth and learning capabilities of their digital counterparts.


Health & Wellbeing

Leveraging advanced technologies such as IoT, wearable devices, and AI, this pillar focussing on the revolution in the monitoring of healthcare, fitness and longevity. Digital twins can provide personalised health insights, track vital signs, and even predict potential health issues, enabling proactive and preventive healthcare management. The aim is to enhance individual health outcomes through continuous monitoring and tailored health interventions.


Education & Work

In the realm of education and professional development, digital twins offer unparalleled opportunities for personalised learning and career growth. This pillar explores how AI-powered educational tools can adapt to individual learning styles, provide customised career advice, and support continuous professional development. By creating a dynamic and responsive learning environment, digital twins can help individuals achieve their full potential in an ever-evolving job market.


Governance & Security

With data privacy and security at the forefront, this pillar focuses on establishing ethical guidelines and robust protection mechanisms for managing digital twins. It addresses critical issues such as data ownership, security and decentralised data storage, to protect and maintain the integrity of digital twins.

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Outputs to Date


Ghislaine has written and presented about her digital human twin concepts many times across the last 25 years, and in particular in the conclusions to her journal article.
 

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The project team for Digital Human Twins – Our Future Data Selves is led by

 

Ghislaine Boddington, Reader in Digital immersion at the School of Design, University of Greenwich and Visiting Professor in Collective Embodiment at the BRAINS Lab Kingston University.


Her leadership is complemented by a dedicated team, including:

  • Dr. Mitra Memarzia - Research Producer

  • Bree Ngwena - Research Coordinator

  • Tadej Vindis - Research Overview / Website


The Living Report (internal) has been produced by the above team, with additional appendix support from Prof Joseph Hyde (Sound/Touch for future Digital Human Twins), Susi O’Neil (Data Privacy, Responsible AI and Cybersecurity for Digital Human Twins) and Samantha Tauber (A Day in Life with your own Digital Human Twin).


The Digital Human Twins - our future data selves has brought together, and continues to gather, the views of a diverse set of internal experts worldwide, including prominent universities academics, leading researchers, data scientists, creative practitioners, industry innovators, ethicists,  and governance/policy experts.

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Collaborators and Institution

 

The project is supported by:

  • University of Greenwich: In collaboration with the Research Centre for Spatial and Digital Ecologies, the School of Design and the Hybrid Presence Research Cluster in the Faculty of Liberal Arts and Sciences at the University of Greenwich. Providing foundational research support and knowledge exchange in digital human and hybrid environments.

  • Kingston University BRAINS Lab: Focused on the integration of biometric data and personal digital security with Prof Karen Cham and Prof Gaëlle Vallée Tourangeau, Directors of The BRAINS Lab

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Vision and Future Directions


The Digital Human Twins - our future data selves project is at the forefront of exploring the integration of digital and human realms, envisioning new applications for digital twins in personal, societal and professional domains. This initiative is more than a technological endeavour; it is a visionary project that seeks to shape the future of digital-human relationships and explore identity and new concepts of self emerging from living with our digital counterparts.


By fostering a collaborative environment, the project will continue to examine and envision new applications for digital twins, develop practical tools and frameworks for a future where digital and human identities coexist and collaborate seamlessly. The ultimate goal is to develop this project towards more tangible permutations of the concepts for further exploration and interaction with wider participants and public audiences.

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Ongoing research areas include (yet are not limited to)

  • Avatars & Digital Presence: Avatars, holograms, augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), telematic presence, digital clones, and implants.

  • Digital Identity & Self-Representation: Self-portrait, digital footprint, digital identity, and personae management.

  • Data Harvesting & Privacy: Psychophysiological, biometric, and intimate data collection; personal data ownership, privacy, protection, maintenance, and legacy.

  • Behavioural & Psychological Impacts: Consequences of interactions with digital human twins, including emotional AI, presence, intimacy, trust, otherness and mutual theory of mind in HCI and the Singularity.

  • Health & Wellbeing Applications: Medical, fitness, health and mental wellbeing uses of digital human twins.

  • Arts, Entertainment & Gaming: The role of digital twins in dance and theatre, gaming, eSports, and as presenters or speakers in entertainment.

  • Education & Workplace Productivity: The future of learning, teaching, and workplace productivity when supported by digital human twins.

  • Ethics & Governance: Governance, regulation, protocols, codes of conduct, and guidelines at global, regional, and national levels.

  • Cybersecurity & Safety: Cybersecurity concerns, surveillance, online safety, and the risks of deep fakes.

  • Diversity, Inclusion & Bias: Addressing issues of diversity, inclusion, and bias in digital human twin development.

  • Decentralised Data & Ethics: Decentralised data identity, Artificial Intelligence, blockchain, data unions, and data ethics/rights.

  • Sustainability & Design: Sustainable systems for data storage and maintenance, and low carbon design considerations.

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For more information or collaboration opportunities, please contact us and join the dialogues as we pioneer a future where digital-human realms converge for the betterment of society.

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