Hi colleague,
We cordially invite you and your colleagues to attend or submit an abstract to our conference *Biodata, Surveillance and Society* at the University of Oslo. It would be great if you could help us circulating the call.
The conference will collect international scholars from the social sciences, law, humanities and the natural sciences who have an interest in exploring the landscape of biodata, surveillance and computation in a wide range of domains.
20.-21. November 2025, University of Oslo
*About the conference*
Biometric technologies, synthetic DNA, biobanks and genomic predictions – the rapid proliferation of biodata has major implications for the present and future of surveillance and society.
What is the next-level biometric technology and how will it impact surveillance practices and security politics? What happens when genetic predictions are part of sentencing? What does it mean that DNA profiles have become part of administrative processes, for example asylum applications? To what extent is the forensic use of biodata based on discriminatory datasets? How do molecular computing and genome analysis services render DNA into a new type of asset?
This conference aims to critically examine the connections between biodata, surveillance and computation in a wide range of domains, from law enforcement and forensic science to biology, bio-informatics and related technologies. Across these contexts, processes of commercialization, digitalization and complexification are at play that demand greater scrutiny and clarity. This conference creates an arena for discussions and insights that can help to update the map of this rapidly shifting landscape centred on the perils and promises of biodata, as well as its scientific and societal impacts.
Biodata, Surveillance and Society will collect international scholars from the social sciences, law, humanities and the natural sciences who have an interest in exploring this landscape better.
*Key Notes*
• Erin Murphy, Former White House Policy Advisor and Professor of Civil Liberties, New York University
• Louise Amoore, Author of Cloud Ethics and The Politics of Possibility, Durham University
• Heather Dewey-Hagborg, information artist and biohacker who will present an artistic intervention
*Application*
Scholars of all levels of seniority are invited to apply. We suggest the following topics for inspiration:
• State and corporate surveillance practices related to biodata and biometrics
• The commercialization of biodata, such as the direct-to-consumer genetic test market
• Past, present, and future debates in the field of behavioural genetics, genomics, and epigenetics
• The use of biodata in law enforcement and the forensic sciences, such as investigate genetic genealogy and forensic DNA phenotyping
• Emerging biotechnologies that interact with genetic information, such as genetic engineering, DNA sequencing and DNA synthesis
• The role of the media in shaping public perceptions of biodata and its explanatory powers
• The use of databases and biobanks to store, organize and analyse biodata
• The use of big data tools in genetics, genomics, and epigenetics
• The governance of biodata at various levels (institutional, national, and international)
*Deadline*
Please send your abstract of 200 words to Vilde Bergmann Winge v.b.winge@jus.uio.no by the 4th of April 2025.
The committee will select abstracts for the conference by the 30th of June.
*Travel stipends*
The research project Digital DNA offers 3 PhD travel stipends of 800 Euros each to cover flights and two nights at a hotel in Oslo. Interested students should send their abstract with a 1-page motivation letter to Vilde Bergmann Winge by the 4th of April 2025.
*Organizer*
The research project Digital DNA
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