BDFI Seminar – Twins of Justice? The Role of Data Justice and Energy Justice in Advancing U.K. Aspirations for an Energy Digital Twin With Zia Saylor

Our funded student Zia Saylor kicks off a new series of seminars at the Bristol Digital Futures Institute.

Digital twins have received significant hype in the energy industry for their potential to create real-time models of energy systems that can be used to balance supply and demand within the energy grid. Even as the actualisation of these models remains elusive, the Data Sharing Infrastructure (DSI) pilot in the U.K. has taken a first step of trying to integrate consumer smart meter data with industrial datasets responsible for day-to-day operations. This step forward comes as consumers have struggled with high energy bills and raised concerns about the privacy implications of smart meters. Grounded in these lived experiences, data justice and energy justice have both offered insight into energy digitalisation efforts. Using the frameworks of data justice and energy justice, this paper analyses stakeholder interview transcripts and secondary documents from the DSI’s implementation body. In considering both data justice and energy justice in dialogue with one another, this paper finds that principles of each are often pitted against the other, even as both can align under a common framework for broader social justice. Two potential reasons for this clash are explored with their implications: in the case of an intentional dichotomy, this indicates an attempted perseverance of structural injustices. Alternatively, unintentional discord reflects a need to embed principles of justice into design and advancement of future twin technologies. Both instances engage with debates of social justice and the relevance of discipline-specific terms in an era of increasing interdisciplinary technological advancement.

Bio: Zia Saylor is a second-year Ph.D. Candidate at the University of Bristol School for Policy studies, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council through the South West Doctoral Training Partnership. Her thesis focuses on experiences and dynamics of well-being both within and across households in Cape Town and how that is shaped by experiences of load-shedding. She completed her Master of Science in Public Policy at the University of Bristol as a Fulbright Scholar after receiving her B.A. with honours in Political Science and Economics from Williams College.

The seminar is an outcome of the PhD placement with the South West Doctoral Training Partnership, mentored by the BDFI Lecturer, Dr Ola Michalec. The project follows on from the ongoing sociotechnical research on the development of digital twins in the energy sector.

Hybrid event. Register to attend here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/bdfi-seminar-twins-of-justice-with-zia-saylor-tickets-1985137158680?utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&utm-medium=discovery&utm-term=listing&utm-source=cp&aff=ebdsshcopyurl