Digital DNA has produced a solid base of empirical data:
- participant observation at scientific events, fairs
- material from websites, webinars, social media
- observation in labs for forensics & molecular computing; technology demos; police stations; tech startups
- conducting DNA sequencing
- over 70 interviews
This rich empirical material enables substantial and novel analytic projects about practices of scientific knowledge-making in forensics, the police, in molecular computing, but also in companies.
So far, Digital DNA analyzed continuities between traditional and modern forms of predictions from biometric data. Further analyses have traced how DNA data come about, which analog and digital technologies they depend on and how DNA data turn “big”. These processes are key to understand how DNA data are productive, when and how DNA fails, and to what extent DNA analyses reflect design decisions, impact investigative work and nurture specific narratives of identification. Additional analyses address regulatory and ethical concerns in the use of “big” DNA methods, the rising role of algorithmic logics in “big” DNA analysis and its impact on identities.
A different set of studies focuses on molecular computing as an emergent techno-scientific field. Here, analyses identify challenges that arise at the intersection of computer science and molecular biology, but also current and future applications of molecular technology with an eye to ethical and societal risks.
Together, the work on these tasks have yielded 3 published articles, 1 forthcoming chapter, 2 submitted articles and 6 forthcoming contributions to the Handbook of Digital Criminology, co-edited by the PI. These results are disseminated broadly at conferences, in open editorials, and discussions with policymakers and practitioners.
At the co-organized conference “Evidence in Motion” polarized research fields and practitioners were brought together to develop a common language, to discuss issues and solutions. This interdisciplinary focus and the closeness to practice and policy are one of the project’s strengths. The Norwegian Data Protection Commission invited the PI to comment on the role of data in police work, which was quoted in their 2022 report to the Norwegian government. The project created national momentum when the PI as sole recipient received the University of Oslo’s 2023 Award for Young Researchers for her work at “the intersection of technology, genetics and social security”.
