Webinar: Vulnerability in the Automated State

Topic: The digitalisation and automation of government have transformed public administration, promising greater efficiency, reduced bureaucracy, and faster access to public services. For many citizens, automation has simplified interactions with government and facilitated access to social assistance. Yet these benefits remain unevenly distributed, particularly when automation reproduces discrimination or prioritizes efficiency over citizen-centred service delivery. This is true even in Scandinavian countries, often celebrated for their welfare state models. Each year, thousands of vulnerable citizens in Scandinavia struggle to exercise their rights because they cannot engage independently with digital technologies. Drawing on our ongoing WASP-HS project, this first and interdisciplinary workshop will explore how automation is reshaping the Swedish welfare system and how it affects citizens’ ability to exercise their rights on equal terms in a digital-first state where human decision-makers are increasingly replaced by algorithms.

Chair: Sofia Ranchordas, Professor of Administrative Law, Tilburg Law School, Luiss & WASP-HS Guest Professor at the Sociology of Law Department, Lund University

Speakers

• Anne Kaun, Professor of Media and Communication Studies, Södertörn University, Sweden
• Rikke Frank Jørgensen, Affiliate professor of digital rights, Copenhagen University, Denmark
• Ellinor Blom Lussi, PhD candidate in Technology and Society, Lund University, Sweden

When: December 9th 10.00-11.30

Where: Online - link by registration 

Spoken language: English

This webinar is co-hosted by AI Lund and the research project Vulnerability in the Automated state, funded by WASP -HS and hosted at Lund University. Co-PIs: Jannice Käll, Associate Professor of Sociolegal Studies & Sofia Ranchordas, Full Professor of Administrative Law, Tilburg Law School & Luiss Guido Carli and Guest Professor at the Sociology of Law Department, Lund University (WASP-HS).