THE RISE OF THE PERSONAL DIGITAL TWIN AND ITS CONSEQUENCES FOR THE ETHICS & COMPLIANCE OFFICER

Many manufacturing companies have implemented ‘digital twins’ or are planning to do so in the future. The concept of digital twins can be split into two parts. First, there is the ‘digital model’, an original creation which should understand, predict and optimise behaviours, based on General Electric’s definition of a digital twin, of a real or fictional object or process. This step includes a data model, a set of analytics or algorithms and pre-existing knowledge.

The second phase requires digital shadowing, a process which connects related objects or processes. The digital twin receives continuous data from the physical world. The digital model processes this Big Data and converts it into smart data.

Taking the idea to the next level, a human can be understood as a sophisticated system. Accordingly, it can be represented by a digital twin. The further development of fast 5G wireless networks, sophisticated sensors and cloud technology enables the next potential step, the ‘personal digital twin’ (PDT). Roberto Saracco, Juuso Autiosalo, Derrick de Kerckhove, Francesco Flammini and Louis Nisiotis define a PDT as  “a representation of various aspects of a person”. This might include the person’s movements and interactions, but also their health status. Companies which consider implementing PDTs to represent employees can include other relevant information, such as education, training, workhours, character and so on.

The PDT is not a pure philosophical concept, but companies like IBM and SAP are investigating the practical uses of PDTs. Defined by Roberto Saracco, co-chair of the IEEE Digital Reality Initiative, such an algorithm goes beyond the mirroring of the physical employee, but in connection with an artificial intelligence (AI) would enable it to act autonomously in the virtual space, acquiring required information or carrying out routine tasks, like organising meetings or answering frequently asked questions. This way, the employee can delegate tasks to the PDT, allowing it to answer questions after-hours or during holidays, much like today’s ‘chat-bots’. Such a concept would require active cooperation between the employee and the PDT.

Jul-Sep 2020 Issue

Patrick Henz