Ghislaine Boddington

Ghislaine Boddington is a British artist, curator, and director. She is the Co-founder and Creative Director of body>data>space and Women Shift Digital. She has worked across the fields of digital performance, immersive experiences, and body-technology interaction. Her main focus is the integration of the human body with digital technologies through performing arts, design, and innovation. Her focus is on the living bodies' evolutions and that we need to explore the ethics of all physical-digital interactions. Her message for decades has been that "the body is the interface” 

As a curator and researcher, she has led several EU and UK-funded projects that explored telepresence, collective experience, and virtual-physical blending. She initiated and co-directed the EU project 'Robots and Avatars', which examined how humans collaborate with robots and avatars in working and learning environments. Her EU Project 'Post Me-New ID' explored futures where technology deepens human connections.

She has also directed and produced ‘me and my shadow’ (2012), a pioneering telepresence project connecting people simultaneously in four different cities using motion capture and digital interaction tools. She was a lead curator for Nesta’s FutureFest in London, where she presented future concepts and interactive installations related to identity, intimacy, trust and immersive futures.

She also wrote and presented the BBC World Service 'The Documentary Me and My Digital Twin’,  which first aired on 30 November 2024 (now available on BBC Sounds and podcatchers) and investigated the use of AI hybrid digital twins in shaping self-expression, health, identity, and legacy. Her research work continues with keynotes and consultancies about digital human twins taking place into numerous sectors globally. 

Ghislaine has contributed to various advisory boards and committees related to creative industries, arts and technology, and digital culture. She has worked on innovative direction of projects with institutions such as the European Commission, Arts Council England, British Council, Goethe Institute and Innovate UK amongst others. She has also worked with educational institutions and universities, delivering lectures, workshops, and presentations internationally. Her long term and foresight-driven expertise is sought globally, with keynote invitations and collaborations in 35+ countries. She has worked with corporate, arts/culture, creative industry, academic and institutional clients.

Ghislaine is an active Trustee for Stemette Futures. She is an Associate Editor for AI & Society (Springer-guest-editing its 2025 special issue on digital human twins), and a member of the UK Government's DCMS College of Experts.

Her publications include contributions to Palgrave Macmillan, AI&Society (Springer), Virtual Creativity, and the British Council’s Creative Economy Reports, focusing on digital twins, presence, and human-data interaction in immersive environments. Her article, The Internet of Bodies - Alive, Connected, Collective: The Virtual Physical Future of Our Bodies and Our Senses (AI & Society, Springer, ISSN 0951-5666, DOI: 10.1007/s00146-020-01137-1, February 4, 2021), has been accessed over 16,000 times and has received more than 100 citations. She also serves as Lead Editor for a special collection in AI&Society (Springer) titled Digital Human Twins – Our Future Data Selves. 
 

She was an Associate Fellow at Middlesex University from 1999 to 2009. She has pursued further research in digital interaction and body-technology integration at the University of Greenwich as a Reader. She also has co-evolved academic programmes in media, live performance and creative technology.

Ghislaine Boddington is a futurist, human futures expert, and a globally recognised thought leader in digital identity, virtual presence, and immersive innovation. Her career, which began in the early 1990s, spans several decades of pioneering work that explores the convergence of the physical and virtual worlds, human-AI co-creation, and the ethical implications of digital technologies.

Ghislaine Boddington was born in the United Kingdom. She studied performing arts at Middlesex University. Her early interest was in performing arts and choreography. In the 1980s, she began exploring how technology could connect to the body through movement and performance to create an enhanced experience for the living body. Her initial work focused on live performance, sensor interactions and telepresence.

In the early 1990s, she co-founded Shinkansen – sound and movement research, a pioneering interaction design collective working from multiple venues and festivals across the EU, regularly curating and presenting programmes of work at the Institute of Contemporary Arts and Dance Umbrella in London. It worked on telepresence, body technology interfaces, and remote collaboration using ISDN, motion capture and other emerging technologies. She also started her focus on digital identity and human-computer interaction. Across the nineties, she directed over 80 workshops in dance and technology globally, working with dancers, technologists, designers, and creative coders to develop new forms of hybrid experiences.
 

In 2005, she was one of the founders of body>data>space, a collective working at the intersection of the human body and digital interaction. She developed immersive and interactive installations, projects, and experiences combining physical movement, wearable tech, sensors, and immersive environments. Her work explored the relationship between the body and digital spaces using real-time systems and responsive technology. 

She directed big projects like The Internet of Bodies (2009 onwards) and My AI Hybrid BioTwin (2021), which examines AI-powered digital human twins and their relationship with our biometric, neural, and emotional data.

Throughout the 2000s, she led and contributed to several European Union-funded projects, including, MADE, Post-Me New_ID and ICT & Art Connect. These projects combined research, workshops, and interactive installations to investigate the future of digital-human interaction.  

She was a lead curator and co-producer of FutureFest, a festival produced by Nesta between 2016 and 2018. She curated themes such as the future of intimacy, human-machine relationships, and identity. She brought together technologists, artists, researchers, and business leaders to explore ideas about the future of humans and technology.

In 2012, she launched the Women Shift Digital initiative to support women working in technology, media, and innovation. It included workshops, events, and mentoring activities.

From 2017 onwards, she became the co-presenter of BBC World Service’s “Digital Planet” technology show, working with Gareth Mitchell. On the programme, she covered topics including AI ethics, wearable tech, telepresence, VR, and human-centric design. She contributed regularly to BBC World Service documentaries and BBC Click features. After the show ended in 2023, she continued podcasting and media work, including co-presenting Somewhere on Earth - The Global Tech Podcast  (Evergreen). 

She currently holds professorial roles at the University of Greenwich and at Kingston University. Her academic research integrates with her practice-led work and public engagement. She is known for working on projects related to digital twins, immersive environments, XR design, and ethics in technology. She continues to develop and share her work on the Internet of Bodies through lectures, workshops, and consultancy.

She has been a keynote speaker at several international events, including The Pioneers, TedX, TransformativeTech, BOLD Austria, Deutsche Bank Women In Social Tech, Nesta FutureFest,  S+T+ARTS Urban Fest, MIT, Mobile World Congress, Digital Body Festival  and Ars Electronica. Her talks explore themes like human-computer interaction, the digital self, embodiment in digital spaces, and hybrid environments. She consults for organisations and corporates including Nesta, Innovate UK, and the European Commission on future tech, digital identity and inclusion.

She has contributed to various publications and journals. She has been published or featured in The Guardian, Forbes, Wired UK, BBC Online, and the Financial Times. She has written chapters in academic books on body technology and digital interaction. Her work has been referenced in reports on immersive technology, wearable computing, and digital culture.
 

Ghislaine Boddington has received several awards and honours. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA) and is part of several advisory boards, including those on creative tech, digital ethics, and innovation policy. She is a member of the UK Governments DCMS College of Experts.

She continues to lead research and consultancy in areas including hybrid presence, gesture-based interaction, ethics of AI, digital identity, and the future of virtual experiences. Her current work includes lectures, digital curation, consultancy projects, and media contributions related to digital twins, immersive tech, and the evolving human- digital interface.

Ghislaine Boddington’s vision is to help people understand how their physical body connects with the digital world. She believes digital technologies should support identity, interaction, and well-being in fair and human-centred ways. Her work focuses on creating meaningful connections between virtual and real experiences. 

As she says, “A digital twin isn’t just a copy; it’s a companion, a co-creator, and a legacy.” She also asks, “Imagine that when you are born, a digital version of you is also created... How might this reshape our understanding of ourselves and our potential?” Her aim is to guide ethical, inclusive digital futures for all.

Ghislaine Boddington has received several awards and recognition for her work combining the human body with digital technology. In 2017, she was honoured with the esteemed International IX Immersion Visionary Pioneer Award (SAT)in recognition of her pioneering contribution to digital embodiment. She has also received recognition from the UK Innovation sector, including 10 years of mentions on the Computer Weekly 'Most influential women in UK tech’ and an ITA Inclusive Tech Alliance Award in 2019, for her contributions to human-centred digital experiences. She is a Fellow Royal Society of the Arts.

As a Creative Director of body>data>space, her team’s work has been recognised across Europe in many innovation and digital arts festivals. Her contributions to BBC programmes, such as Digital Planet and Me and My Digital Twin, have also gained widespread appreciation in the tech and arts community.