Geographies of migration III: The digital migrant

Abstract

There is a growing focus on digitisation, datafication, automation and artificial intelligence in migration studies. This report reviews accounts of these technological innovations with a particular emphasis on their impacts for how migration is conceived and governed. The discussion overviews research that identifies and describes forms of digitisation and datafication, examines the role of automation and artificial intelligence in migration management, and discusses the links between and ethics of digitally mediated migrations and digital solidarities with mobile people. In closing, the report raises questions about the intellectual and political agenda of a purported sub-field of digital migration studies.