Stateless Studies in an Age of Artificial Intelligence: Challenges, Opportunities & Setting a Future Agenda

Since 2010, there has been enormous social and political hype around artificial intelligence (‘AI’) and how it has, and will, continue to impact society. This is not just puffery, and there is growing recognition across a range of fields that there is an urgent need to further explore the use, scope and impact of AI in relation to digital forms of citizenship and the datafication of societies. Concern arises as the adoption of these technologies has led to significant changes in how citizenship is not only experienced and performed, but also how states regulate citizenship. Despite this growing recognition, most notably within citizenship studies, statelessness studies have remained largely silent on AI. In this piece, I argue that this lack of engagement is very problematic. I do so by highlighting five areas where AI should be a matter of interest (or concern) in statelessness studies: 1) transparency in AI supported decision making on citizenship and statelessness, 2) perpetrating and amplifying discrimination against people who are stateless, 3) the legacy of statelessness in data: ‘The citizenship-bias’, 4) engaging with emerging AI governance and 5) AI-supported research and advocacy on statelessness. These five areas only begin to scratch the surface of a much-needed research and engagement agenda on AI in statelessness studies. However, it is hoped that this piece can act as a catalyst for further discussion on how we can advance our understanding and use of AI in the field. Doing so is essential if we are to be able to manage the risks as well as capitalise on the opportunities of this technology in relation to statelessness.