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Nele Prinz

Ph.d. Fellow

About

E-mail
Departments
Department of Management, Society and Communication
Room: DH.V.2.09
Subjects
Big data Artificial intelligence Technology Society Philosophy

Primary research areas

Crit­ic­al Data Stud­ies
Crit­ic­al Data Stud­ies crit­ic­ally re­flect upon tech­no­lo­gic­al in­nov­a­tions re­lated to Big Data, al­gorithms and AI. Re­ject­ing techno-de­term­in­ist per­spect­ives, it views data as “situ­ated, con­tin­gent, re­la­tion­al, and framed and [as] used con­tex­tu­ally to achieve cer­tain aims and goals” (Kit­chin & Lauri­ault 2012: “To­wards Crit­ic­al Data Stud­ies”).
Fem­in­ist Tech­nos­cience
Fem­in­ist tech­nos­cience is in­ter­ested in how gender and tech­no­logy in­ter­twine, re­veal­ing power re­la­tions be­hind tech­no­lo­gies and their in­fra­struc­tures. Ad­opt­ing a so­cio-con­struct­ive ap­proach, it re­cog­nizes that tech­no­lo­gic­al de­vel­op­ment is em­bed­ded in his­tor­ic­al con­tinu­it­ies of pat­ri­archy and co­lo­ni­al­ism.
Al­gorithmic Gov­ern­ment­al­ity
The the­ory of al­gorithmic gov­ern­ment­al­ity de­scribes a form of gov­ernance that re­places tra­di­tion­al tech­niques of rule through al­gorithmic pro­cessing of large data­sets. It op­er­ates through three stages: Data col­lec­tion (data­veil­lance), ag­greg­a­tion (datamin­ing), and ana­lys­is (al­gorithmic pro­fil­ing).
Di­git­al twins
Di­git­al twins are widely used in areas such as med­ic­al treat­ment, fact­ory op­tim­iz­a­tion, and city plan­ning, among oth­ers. While doub­ling phys­ic­al phe­nom­ena is not new, di­git­al twin­ning seems to ac­cel­er­ate with AI, rais­ing nov­el polit­ic­al, epi­stem­ic and norm­at­ive ques­tions.

In­ter­rog­at­ing power in emer­ging tech­no­lo­gies

My research is guided by the assumption that emerging technologies are never neutral, new, or immaterial, but deeply embedded in societies, ecologies, historical (dis-)continuities and normative assumptions.  My PhD project explores subjectivity in the era of datafication, with a focus on how technologies govern bodies and borders.

Grounded in political theory with attention to material realities of datafication, I explore how digital technologies and infrastructures shape subject-formation and processes of subjectification, by working on a typology of digital twins.

My research helps challenge contemporary hegemonic narratives of technology and aims at supporting organizations and civil society to critically assess AI technologies and their socio-material implications. 

Prior to CBS, I completed a BA and MA in International and European Governance at the University of Münster and Sciences Po Lille with a focus on Politics, Philosophy, and Economy.