Our Digital Bodies - Biometric Technologies and Data

Our everyday life is filled with technologies targeting our bodies and capturing our data, often without us considering the consequences. Our laptops demand our fingerprints, our smartphones unlock by scanning our faces and our wearable devices constantly track our heart rates.

Biometric technologies can be used for a wide range of purposes, extending far beyond convenience and leisure to enabling security, control and surveillance. When we travel, passports embed our facial features and fingerprints, influencing our ability to cross borders. Law enforcement also uses biometric data to monitor citizens for crime control and security purposes. Schools and workplaces are also increasingly relying on biometrics to scrutinise our performance.

It is crucial to explore how our bodies are being digitised and tracked. The key aim of this event is to discover how we understand the digital uses of our bodies, while raising public awareness about the social, ethical and cultural implications of living with biometric technologies. Through interactive activities and thought-provoking discussions, this event will critically assess the influence of biometric technologies, empowering us to understand its impacts on our lives.

Event details

This interactive event offers a creative and collaborative space for citizens to share their perspectives on ‘Our Digital Bodies’ by exploring current and future uses of biometrics.

In the first activity participants will capture and document their concerns about current biometrics through photographs, drawings or craft materials. This will then stimulate conversations on the topic to spark broader debate on: how are these technologies reshaping our identities and our sense of self?

The second involves using ‘design fictions’ to present speculative future scenarios about novel and emerging biometric tools such as emotional and facial recognition. These imagined scenarios will encourage discussion on: how do we want these technologies to shape our lives now and in the future? What boundaries do we want to see?

This event aims to foster a reflection on the current and future uses of technologies that target our bodies. This will be grounded in real-world concerns and experiences with digital and biometric tools. By uncovering citizens’ key concerns regarding these technologies, this event hopes to enhance public awareness and understanding of key issues. Following a community-based approach, visual media produced during this event will then be used to further stimulate public debate, by evolving into a public photographic and art & craft exhibition.

Who’s leading the event? 

Dr Diana Miranda, Senior Lecturer in Criminology at the University of Stirling.

Who should attend the event?

This event aims to explore the perceptions and concerns held by the general public about biometric technologies. No specialist knowledge or expertise in this area is required to attend.

Event programme

13.00-13.30 - Light refreshments

13.30-13.45 - Introducing ‘Our Digital Bodies’

13.45-14.30 - Visually capturing ‘Our Digital Bodies’

14.30-14.40 - Break

14.40 -15.30 - Envisioning the future of ‘Our Digital Bodies’

15.30-16.00 - End and feedback

Booking details

Book a place now. Booking deadline is 24 hours before the event starts.

This event is part of the ESRC Festival of Social Science 2024.