Ghislaine Boddington

Professor Ghislaine Boddington FHEA

Professor of Digital Creative Industries (Human Futures and Digital Identity)

Ghislaine Boddington is Professor of Digital Creative Industries (Human Futures and Digital Identity) at the University of Greenwich, and Co-founder and Creative Director of body>data>space, the body-led research and interaction design studio she has directed since the early 1990s, with a practice rooted in dance and performing arts from the 1980s. Her original thinking on digital human twins, telepresence, biometrics, body data and self-stewardship, developed across three decades of practice, anticipated concerns that have since become central to the global debate on digital identity, positioning her as a consistent voice in what is now a matter of mass public and policy relevance. She has been a Member of the UK Government DCMS College of Experts since 2021, inputting into policy initiatives around digital identity.

She researched and presented the BBC World Service commission 'The Documentary, Me and my digital twin', broadcast in November 2024, and was a bi-weekly expert commentator on BBC World Service Digital Planet from 2016 to 2023. She is an Associate Editor of AI&Society (Springer) and Lead Editor of its special collection 'Digital Human Twins, Our Future Data Selves', publishing 33 contributions to date and building on her own 2021 AI&Society paper, 'The Internet of Bodies, alive, connected and collective' (REF21 Impact Case Study).

Known for creating debate around what she calls 'hyper-enhancement of the senses' and 'hyper-embodiment' since the late 1980s, she has directed body>data>space, and its predecessor collective shinkansen, through over 600 projects across more than 30 countries, commissioning and directing more than 80 body-led interaction and immersion works internationally. Her co-creation methodology, The Weave, underpins this body of work. She curated dance-technology programmes for Dance Umbrella and the Institute of Contemporary Arts, London, in the 1990s, co-led eight EU Creative Media projects from 1998 to 2015, and co-directed the immersive networked installation 'Me and my Shadow' in 2012 for the National Theatre, London. She co-curated Nesta's flagship foresight event FutureFest from 2015 to 2018, leading on the Future Love and Alternative Me programmes.

She was an Artist Research Fellow at ResCen, Middlesex University, from 1999 to 2019, where she convened the Virtual Physical Bodies Symposium in 1999, and was Visiting Professor in Collective Embodiment at Kingston Business School from 2023 to 2025. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and a Trustee of Stemette Futures, advocating for the inclusion of women in tech and AI. In 2017 she received the IX Immersion Experience International Visionary Pioneer Award, SAT Montreal, in recognition of her long term international leadership in digital embodiment.

Design

Art and design - history, practice and theory

Responsibilities within the university
  • Professor in Digital Creative Industries (Human Futures and Digital Identity)
  • Lead, Digital Human Twins, Our Future Data Selves (My AI Hybrid BioTwin) research programme

Awards
  • Finalist, Inclusive Tech Alliance Awards, 2019
  • IX Immersion Experience International Visionary Pioneer Award, SAT Montreal, 2017
  • Computer Weekly Most Influential Women in UK Tech, Longlist, every year since 2015
  • TechCityInsider100, 2014

Recognition
  • Member, College of Experts for UK Government Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, since 2021
  • Trustee, Stemette Futures, since 2015
  • Associate Editor and Editorial Board, AI&Society journal, Springer
  • Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA), since 1999
  • Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA)

Recent Conference Presentations

Selected Keynotes, Presentations and Panels - Ghislaine keynotes internationally and had presented in over 30 countries in a range of sectors from arts and academia to creative industries and corporate scenarios.

2025 - ‘Digital Human Twins – our future data selves’

  • Plenary Keynote, International Display Workshops IDW25, Hiroshima, Japan, 3 to 5 December 2025
  • Closing Keynote, Possible Futures Festival, Casa Firjan, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 23 to 24 October 2025
  • Impulse Statement and Hosting, Businessabc AI Global Summit, Royal Kensington Town Hall, 26 June 2025
  • Co-curation and Presentation, Animating Digital Identities Symposium, University of Greenwich, 17 June 2025
  • Keynote, FICTA (13th International Conference on Frontiers in Intelligent Computing) 2025, London Metropolitan University and University of Greenwich, 6 to 7 June 2025
  • Keynote, Export Tag Day 25, Austrian Federal Chamber of Commerce, Vienna, 3 June 2025

Pre 2025

  • Opening Keynote, Digital Body Festival, "Bodies of Knowledge," London, 15 November 2024
  • Opening Keynote, Disruptia, The Light Collective, London, 10 October 2024
  • Speaker, Bold Unconference, Austrian Chamber of Commerce, 12 June 2024
  • MC/Host, University of Greenwich TEDx, 5 April 2024
  • Co-Chair, curation and presentation, Extended Senses and Embodying Technologies Symposium and Exhibition, University of Greenwich and UCA, 8-10 September 2022
  • A Nudge and a Push Series: Towards Ethical Sustainability in an Era of (Invisible) Data Harvesting, 4 part webinar series, University of Greenwich, April to June 2021
  • Keynote, “The Internet of Bodies”, Mobile World Congress Barcelona, 27 February 2019
  • Presentation, “The Internet of Bodies – Body Data and Ethical Futures”, BEYOND Conference, Edinburgh, 21 November 2019
  • Curator and Host, FutureFest Forward, 3 live debates on AI and the future of work, Nesta 2018 - Full archive, back to 2016, lives at internetofbodies.net/presentations.

Research / Scholarly interests

Ghislaine's research methodology uses a loop between her long term practice led and her public engagement work across the last three decades to enable an evolution of her topical expert interest. At University of Greenwich she has developed the ‘Internet of Bodies’, a framework she led from 2012 to 2021 (REF21 Impact case Study), exploring the living, breathing body as an interactive interface, and the evolution of biometric data, gesture and sense interfaces, and embedded digital connectivity. Since 2021 this has evolved into her future looking ‘Digital Human Twins’ research programme, examining the ethical, social and cultural implications of digital counterparts to the human body, and what happens to identity, presence, selfhood and agency as a digital self grows alongside the living one. Her research concept within this programme, ‘My AI Hybrid BioTwin’, is a foresight led methodology exploring a personalised digital twin, tethered from birth, that grows, learns and evolves alongside the individual it represents.

Her key research vocabulary includes human futures, body-led practice, digital embodiment, hybrid presence, telepresence, digital identity, Digital Human Twins, data selves, self-stewardship, collective embodiment, co-creation and the virtual-physical self. She takes each stage of this research into public and policy debate through Practice as Research methodology, most recently into global discussion on digital identity, data ownership, transparency, trust and consent.

Media activity
  • BBC World Service commission, The Documentary, Me and my digital twin - first broadcast November 2024, 50 minute podcast version available on BBC Sounds
  • Bi-weekly expert commentator, BBC World Service Digital Planet, 2016 to 2023 including:- - Digital Planet Says Goodbye, with interview on her digital human twins research, 2023 - Digital Planet, Special edition, "Digital Identity, Where Are We Now?", 2023 - Digital Planet, Special edition, "What's the deal with the metaverse?" 2022 - Digital Planet, Special Edition, “How green is our data?” 2021 - Digital Planet, Special Edition, “Exploring digital death” 2020
  • Regular input as expert across BBC radio/tv
  • Fast Forward: Tech Past, Tech Future - Tomorrow Unlocked - 6 episodes written and presented on human futures and technologies - July 2023
  • Regular contributor to The Global Tech Podcast - Somewhere on Earth Productions
  • Media coverage of work in Financial Times, The Guardian, The independent, Forbes, Tech Trends, BBC Radio – World Service, 3 and 4, Sky News, UploadVR, Quartz etc

Recent publications

Article

Baker, Camille and , Boddington, Ghislaine (2022), Editorial. Extended senses: embodying technology. Intellect - Virtual Creativity. In: , , , . Intellect - Virtual Creativity, Intellect - Virtual Creativity, Volume 12, Issue Extended Senses: Embodying Technology,, 12 (1) . pp. 3-8 ISSN: 2397-9704 (Print), 2397-9712 (Online) (doi: https://doi.org/10.1386/vcr_00057_2).

Pitsillides, Stacey , Boddington, Ghislaine, Vindis, Tadej (2022), Donate yourself: an AR trail exploring the future of organ, tissue and body data donation. Intellect - Virtual Creativity. In: , , , . Intellect - Virtual Creativity, Virtual Creativity, 12 (1) . pp. 103-123 ISSN: 2397-9704 (Print), 2397-9712 (Online) (doi: https://doi.org/10.1386/vcr_00064_1).

Ghislaine, Boddington and , (2021), The Internet of Bodies — alive, connected and collective: the virtual physical future of our bodies and our senses. Springer Nature. In: , , , . Springer Nature, AI and Society ISSN: 0951-5666 (Print), 1435-5655 (Online) (doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00146-020-01137-1).

Audio

Mitchell, Gareth and , Boddington, Ghislaine (2025), AI, Curiosity, and the Future of Humanity: Digitally Curious & Somewhere on Earth Unite for a Groundbreaking Tech Podcast Crossover. Apple. In: , , , . Apple, (doi: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/ai-curiosity-and-the-future-of-humanity/id1713408769?i=1000738537679).

Boddington, Ghislaine and , (2025), AI isn’t coming – it’s already here. Apple. In: , , , . Apple, (doi: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/ai-isnt-coming-its-already-here/id1713408769?i=1000738537682).

Haslage, Leah , Mitchell, Gareth, Boddington, Ghislaine (2025), Weddings Reimagined: VR vows, smart rings & the rise of intimacy tech | Bridechilla x Somewhere on Earth. Apple. In: , , , . Apple, (doi: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/weddings-reimagined-vr-vows-smart-rings-the-rise/id1713408769?i=1000738537683).

Mitchell, Gareth and , Boddington, Ghislaine (2025), Chat with Da Vinci & Ada Lovelace in 3D and Digital Twins in Fashion & Football. Apple. In: , , , . Apple, (doi: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/chat-with-da-vinci-ada-lovelace-in-3d-and-digital-twins/id1713408769?i=1000738537739).

Mitchell, Gareth and , Boddington, Ghislaine (2025), 35,000 AI Deepfake Models Found Online – The Shocking Rise of Non-Consensual Porn. Apple. In: , , , . Apple, (doi: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/35-000-ai-deepfake-models-found-online-the-shocking/id1713408769?i=1000738537775).

Mitchell, Gareth and , Boddington, Ghislaine (2025), Are teachers keeping up with their pupils when it comes to AI in the classroom?. Apple. In: , , , . Apple, (doi: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/are-teachers-keeping-up-with-their-pupils-when-it/id1713408769?i=1000738537654).

Mitchell, Gareth and , Boddington, Ghislaine (2025), AI can now sell your intentions – marketing your decisions before you make them. Apple. In: , , , . Apple, (doi: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/ai-can-now-sell-your-intentions-marketing-your-decisions/id1713408769?i=1000738537601).

Mitchell, Gareth and , Boddington, Ghislaine (2024), Biometrics – do we have a choice in who has this data and how they use it?. Apple. In: , , , . Apple, (doi: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/biometrics-do-we-have-a-choice-in-who-has-this-data/id1713408769?i=1000738537630).

Boddington, Ghislaine , BBC World Service, Boffin Media (2024), “Me and my digital twin - Exploring the future of Identity and Technology”: The Documentary (BBC World Service Commission). BBC WORLD SERVICE. In: , , , . BBC WORLD SERVICE, (doi: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3ct7hnh) NB Item availability restricted.

Mitchell, Gareth and , Boddington, Ghislaine (2024), What’s next for agritech? How lawyers are getting food from farm to table. Apple. In: , , , . Apple, (doi: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/whats-next-for-agritech-how-lawyers-are-getting-food/id1713408769?i=1000738537847).

Mitchell, Gareth and , Boddington, Ghislaine (2024), AI submissions are avoiding detection at a well-respected university in the UK. Apple. In: , , , . Apple, (doi: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/ai-submissions-are-avoiding-detection-at-a-well/id1713408769?i=1000666039441).

Mitchell, Gareth and , Boddington, Ghislaine (2024), Internet blackout in Equatorial Guinea and social media bans in Venezuela. Apple. In: , , , . Apple, (doi: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/internet-blackout-in-equatorial-guinea-and-social/id1713408769?i=1000665182192).

Boddington, Ghislaine , Mitchell, Gareth, Somewhere on Earth Ltd (2023), Somewhere on Earth: The Global Tech Podcast. Somewhere on Earth Ltd. In: , , , . Somewhere on Earth Ltd, (doi: https://somewhereonearth.co/).

Boddington, Ghislaine and , (2023), Fast Forward: tech past, tech future. Tomorrow Unlocked. In: , , , . Tomorrow Unlocked, (Season 2) (doi: https://fastforward.podbean.com/).

Boddington, Ghislaine , Mitchell, Gareth, Thompson, Bill, Mari, Angelica , Lichtarowicz, Ania (2022), BBC Digital Planet (from May 2020 - March 2023) for BBC World Service Radio. BBC. In: , , , . BBC, (From May 2020 - March 2023 BBC World Service weekly radio show) (doi: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p002w6r2).

Conference item

Boddington, Ghislaine and , (2025), Digital human twins – our future data selves. In: The 32nd International Display Workshops IDW '25, 3rd - 5th December, 2025, International Conference Center Hiroshima Hiroshima, Japan , . , (doi: https://www.idw.or.jp/25archive/) NB Item availability restricted.

Boddington, Ghislaine and , Casa Firjan, Rio de Janeiro (2025), "Datafied Future Selves: Internet of Bodies" for 8th Edition of the Possible Futures Festival (Festival Futuros Possíveis) at Casa Firjan in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. In: Possible Futures Festival (Festival Futuros Possíveis), 23–24 October 2025, Casa Firjan, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil , . , (doi: https://firjan.com.br/noticias/festival-futuros-possiveis-2025-8AE4828D98619B13019A4F54C645540D-00.htm) NB Item availability restricted.

Gingrich, Olive , Ticho, Sarah, Baker, Camille, Boddington, Ghislaine (2025), Animating avatars for social good. In: Animating Digital Identities, 17 Jun 2025, London, UK , . , (doi: ).

Mag Gingrich, Oliver , Bozzi, Nicola, Boddington, Ghislaine, Isaeva, Tatiana (2025), Animating Digital Identities. In: Animating Digital Identities, 17 Jun 2025, London, UK , . , (doi: https://www.animatedigital.co.uk/) NB Item availability restricted.

Boddington, Ghislaine , Tozzi, Gianluca, Oladunjoye, Ibukunolu (2025), Digital Human Twins: our future data selves. In: FICTA - 13th International Conference on "Frontiers of Intelligent Computing: Theory and Applications", 6th - 7th June, 2025, London Metropolitan University, London , . , (doi: https://www.londonmet.ac.uk/research/centres-groups-and-units/ai-and-data-science-research-group/events/13th-international-conference-on-frontiers-of-intelligent-computing-theory-and-applications/).

Boddington, Ghislaine and , (2025), Blurred realities, space, self, and storytelling in luxury retail. In: Blurred Realities: Reimagining Identity, Space, and Experience, 01 May 2025, London, UK , . , (doi: ).

Boddington, Ghislaine and , (2024), Digital Human Twins: Our Future Data Selves (Plenary Keynote). In: Digital Body Festival, 15th - 17th November, 2024, Hackney Wick, London In: Ghislaine Boddington (ed.), Digital Human Twins: Our Future Data Selves. , (doi: https://digital-body.com/) NB Item availability restricted.

Conference proceedings

Bowen, Jonathon P. , Baker, Camille, Boddington, Ghislaine, Edmonds, Ernst , van Helsdingen, Merel , Masson, Terence (2021), EVA London 2021: Keynote summaries. Science Open. In: , , In: Jonathon P. Bowen (ed.), EVA London 2021: Electronic Visualisation & the Arts. Proceedings of conference. BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT, 5th -9th July 2021. Science Open, London (Online) . pp. 1-6 . ISBN: 9781780175737 (doi: https://doi.org/10.14236/ewic/EVA2021.1).

Exhibition

Boddington, Ghislaine and , Baker, Camille (2022), Extended senses and embodying technology symposium and exhibition September 2022. Springer Nature. In: Extended Senses & Embodying Technology Symposium and Exhibition plus publication outputs, 8th - 10th September 2022, University of Greenwich , . Springer Nature, AI and Society ISSN: 0951-5666 (Print), 1435-5655 (Online) (doi: https://www.extendedsenses22.co.uk/).

Other

Boddington, Ghislaine and , (2023), Internet of bodies. In: , , , . , (doi: ).

Boddington, Ghislaine and , (2023), Multicomponent Output: Digital Human Twins - Lectures, radio and podcasts March 23 to December 2024. University of Greenwich. In: , , , . University of Greenwich, (doi: https://www.internetofbodies.net/digital-human-twins) NB Item availability restricted.

Boddington, Ghislaine and , (2023), Digital Human Twins: Our Future Data Selves 2021 – 2027. MY AI HYBRID BIOTWIN: a series of keynotes, radio interviews, lectures, panels and presentations around key research focus. BBC, University of Greenwich, Tomorrow Unlocked, Ars Electronica, Austrian Federal Economic Chamber, Frequency Festival. In: , , , . BBC, University of Greenwich, Tomorrow Unlocked, Ars Electronica, Austrian Federal Economic Chamber, Frequency Festival, (1st) (doi: https://www.internetofbodies.net/digital-human-twins).

Boddington, Ghislaine and , Camille, Baker (2022), Multicomponent Output: Extended Senses and Embodying Technologies Symposium, Exhibition, Publications, archive documentation and Impact Evaluation Report. University of Greenwich. In: , , , . University of Greenwich, (doi: ) NB Item availability restricted.

Hockham, David , Boddington, Ghislaine, Zisels Lopes Machado Ramos, Jorge, Andrade Pires, Carlos Eduardo (2022), Practice as research and knowledge exchange café’s (PARKE): methodologies to connect beyond academia. The Culture Capital Exchange - UKRI. In: , , , . The Culture Capital Exchange - UKRI, London National Centre for Academic and Cultural Exchange (NCACE) (1st) (doi: https://ncace.ac.uk/2022/06/01/practice-as-research-and-knowledge-exchange-cafes-parke-methodologies-to-connect-beyond-academia/).

Boddington, Ghislaine , Pitsillides, Stacey, Vindis, Tadej (2021), Multicomponent Output: Gift AR platform, Nudge and a Push webinar series, Donate Yourself AR artwork and article. University of Greenwich. In: , , , . University of Greenwich, (doi: ) NB Item availability restricted.

Boddington, Ghislaine and , (2021), Multicomponent Output: The Human Condition and Technological Change - BBC Radio shows and Podcasts researched. Scripted and presented for multiple public radio/podcast outputs. University of Greenwich. In: , , , . University of Greenwich, (doi: ) NB Item availability restricted.

Boddington, Ghislaine and , (2021), A nudge and a push: towards ethical sustainability in an era of (invisible) data harvesting. University of Greenwich. In: , , , . University of Greenwich, University of Greenwich online (doi: https://www.gre.ac.uk/research/activity/las/a-nudge-and-a-push).

Video

von Schomberg, Lucien , Harrington, Jane, Boddington, Ghislaine, Thomas, Carl (2023), The Navigator Podcast - Episode 1: Mind Over Machine. Generator University of Greenwich. In: , , , . Generator University of Greenwich, (doi: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ITdeHcMOBG8).

View all publications