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Conference: 4 June, 2026

The Datafied Citizen:

Structural Inequalities and Vulnerability in the Digital Welfare State

On 4 June 2026, the WASP-HS project Vulnerability in the Digital Welfare State is organising the interdisciplinary conference "The Datafied Citizen: Structural Inequalities and Vulnerability in the Digital Welfare State" at Lund University, Sweden.

The conference aims to bring together scholars from law, socio-legal studies, science and technology studies (STS), critical legal studies, and related disciplines to critically examine how datafication reshapes citizenship, vulnerability, and structural inequality in the digital welfare state. The conference aims to establish a network of scholars working on these topics and to promote constructive exchanges across disciplines. We welcome theoretical, empirical, and methodological contributions that interrogate the normative assumptions embedded in data-driven welfare governance and explore alternatives grounded in social justice, participation, and care.

The conference funders are the Wallenberg AI, Autonomous Systems and Software Program – Humanity and Society (WASP-HS); the Swedish Research Council for Health, Working Life and Welfare (FORTE); and the Department of Communication at Lund University.

 

The conference is designed as a discussion-based workshop. Participants are required to submit an extended abstract (1,000 words max.) two weeks before the conference, which will be circulated among the conference group.

Sessions will consist of short paper pitches followed by an extended collective discussion. Participants are expected to have read the extended abstracts before the conference.
 

We invite paper proposals addressing (but not limited to) the following streams:

  1. Vulnerabilities and AI
    This stream invites contributions on the role of AI and algorithmic systems in the regulation of labour and access to welfare. It focuses in particular on how these systems affect diverse groups, including migrants, the (long-term) unemployed, persons with disabilities, youngsters and children, and older persons. The stream addresses themes such as algorithmic management, welfare conditionality, and data-driven forms of labour control, and examines how migration status shapes access to social rights. Particular attention is paid to processes of racialisation and risk profiling embedded in automated systems, as well as to how data-driven governance affects migrant workers' legal and social positioning within labour markets and welfare regimes.
    Stream leader: Deniz Duru (Lund University)
     
  2. Interfaces of the Welfare State in Transition
    This stream addresses how automation, AI-supported decision-making, chatbots, and language models are transforming the interfaces through which welfare is administered and communicated. It explores how these developments may generate new forms of vulnerability, including reduced transparency of AI tools, implicit biases, and increased demands for digital literacy among both handling officers and individuals interacting with welfare institutions.
    Stream leader: Stefan Larsson (Lund University)
     
  3. PhD Workshop: Studying Vulnerability in the Digital Welfare State
    This roundtable invites PhD researchers to reflect on socio-legal and interdisciplinary approaches to studying vulnerability in the digital welfare state. It provides a space to discuss theoretical frameworks, empirical strategies, and ethical challenges encountered when researching vulnerability in contexts shaped by automation, data-driven governance, and digitalisation.
    Workshop leaders: Timothy York and Ellinor Blom Lussi (Lund University)
     

When applying for the conference and submitting your abstract (max 300 words), please specify if you would like to be included in Stream 1, Stream 2 or whether you would like to take part in the PhD Workshop.

  • Submission deadline: 10 March 2026
    Submit to both e-mail addresses below:
    • s [dot] h [dot] ranchordas [at] tilburguniversity [dot] edu (s[dot]h[dot]ranchordas[at]tilburguniversity[dot]edu)
    • deniz [dot] duru [at] iko [dot] lu [dot] se (deniz[dot]duru[at]iko[dot]lu[dot]se)
  • Extended Abstract (1,000 words) due: 15 May 2026

Abstracts should clearly outline the research question, theoretical framework, methodology, and relevance to the conference themes.

Participation is free of charge. Unfortunately, we cannot fund the travel and accommodation costs of speakers.
 

  • Sofia Ranchordas (Tilburg Law School/ Luiss Guido Carli), WASP-HS Visiting Professor and co-PI project Vulnerability in the Automated Welfare State, WASP-HS
  • Jannice Käll (Lund University, Department of Sociology of Law), co-PI project Vulnerability in the Automated Welfare State, WASP-HS
  • Stefan Larsson (Lund University, Department of Technology and Society)
    Titti Mattsson (Lund University, Law School)
  • Deniz Duru (Lund University, Department of Communication)
  • Ellinor Blom Lussi (WASP-HS PhD Lund University, Department of Technology and Society)
  • Timothy York (WASP-HS PhD Lund University, Department of Sociology of Law)