2024/25

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This is a second-year elective module that will run during the Autumn Term of 2024.

In this module, we will explore how new technologies, including Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based technologies, are shaping the governance of mobility. AI-based technologies are increasingly integrated into various aspects of our lives, including public decision-making systems. Some countries have even started incorporating them into their immigration systems, using them to predict future migration and displacement, process visa applications, and conduct various forms of profiling and risk assessments for decision-making purposes. With large-scale interoperable information systems, it has become possible to deduce individual characteristics, screen them through different systems to obtain more information about an individual, and ultimately make decisions based on comparisons with others.

This module aims to provide students with an introduction to the latest developments in this field and explore the conditions in which these technologies have been integrated into immigration and asylum decision-making systems, as well as humanitarian actions. Through a variety of case studies, mainly from Europe and North America, we will examine how these new technologies are reshaping the definition of territorial state borders and methods of identifying and governing individuals. Additionally, we will explore how humanitarian actors have employed new technologies in countries in Africa and the Middle East and how migrants themselves navigate, adapt, and resist their use.

By the end of this module, you should be able to:

• Have the knowledge and understanding of how and to what extent the operation of territorial borders is changing in the digital age.
• Have the knowledge and ability to critically analyse the ethical, political and social implications of the implementation of new technologies in border management, immigration, and asylum application processing, as well as humanitarian actions.
• Have the knowledge and ability to analyse the ways in which migrants navigate, adopt or challenge the use of a variety of new technologies.
• Be able to describe and critically participate in political and intellectual discussions on the use of new technologies in areas related to migration, asylum and humanitarian actions.
• Develop skills in accessing and evaluating relevant literature for seminar discussion, presentations, conducting independent study, research, and essay writing.