Mini-conference: Datafication, AI, and Meaningful Work

24 November 2026, 1:00 pm – 25 November 2026, 4:00 pm
University West, Trollhättan, Sweden

The research group Digital Technologies for Meaningful Practices invites scholars to a mini-conference on AI, datafication, and meaningful work. Bringing together perspectives from philosophy, information systems, and related fields, the conference explores how emerging technologies are reshaping research, professional practice, and everyday work. Particular attention is given to questions of human judgement, reflection, and human flourishing in increasingly AI-mediated environments. It also provides PhD students with opportunities for paper development and scholarly exchange through dedicated manuscript workshops.

We look forward to your submission and to discussing these interesting themes with you at the conference!
Helena Vallo Hult & Livia Norström

Högskolan Väst - Digital Technologies for Meaningful Practices

Programme

24 November

13.00-13.15
Welcome and introduction to the mini-conference: Livia Norström, Helena Vallo Hult and Amir Haj-Bolouri, University West

13:15-14:45
Workshop: Jonna Bornemark, Södertörn University / Guest Professor, University West
Philosophy of technology, professional judgement, and meaningful work
As AI becomes integrated into everyday academic work, this workshop explores how AI is influencing research practices and scholarly work. Drawing on philosophy, epistemology, and studies of professional judgment, Jonna will guide and inspire a discussion on how AI is changing the ways we write, analyse, interpret, and produce knowledge. The workshop aims to open up a conversation about the role of AI in research and the opportunities, challenges, and questions that follow.

14.45-15.15
Coffee break

15:15-16:30
Gwendolyn Heavens & Helena Vallo Hult: Shared Reading & Dialogue
Swedish association for narrative medicine

We will end the day with a shared-reading session designed to encourage collective reflection and human connection. Drawing on a short piece of literary fiction read aloud together as a common point of departure, participants will be invited to share thoughts, experiences, and perspectives in an open, supportive setting. Because narrative suggests meaning without closing down on a single interpretation, this session creates space for listening, nuance, and genuine discovery—offering a moment to slow down in a time often characterized by speed, polished outputs, and increasingly artificial forms of interaction.

18:00 Dinner

25 November

9.00-9.30 Coffee and breakfast sandwich

09:30-11:00
Seminar: Lena Hylving, Oslo University
Datafication, digital technologies, and human flourishing
This session/seminar introduces ´pataphysics—the “science of imaginary solutions”—as a playful yet critical lens for rethinking digital technologies and Information Systems research. Drawing on its key concepts (clinamen, anomaly, antinomy, and syzygy), Lena will present possibilities for how tiny shifts, exceptions, contradictions, and humor can be used to study, design, and speculate about digital technologies differently. Following the presentation, participants will play a tiny zine-game currently called “Rebellion and AI” that invites players into playful storytelling and critical reflection about the future of AI.  

11:00-12:00
Paper development workshop
PhD students are invited to submit a manuscript for discussion. Please send your submission to livia.norstrom@hv.se no later than 11 November.

12:00-13:00
Lunch

13:00-14:00
Paper development workshop
PhD students are invited to submit a manuscript for discussion. Please send your submission to livia.norstrom@hv.se no later than 11 November.

14:00-14:30
Coffee break

14:30-15:30
Paper development workshop
PhD students are invited to submit a manuscript for discussion. Please send your submission to livia.norstrom@hv.se no later than 11 November.

15:30-16.00 Evaluation, conclusion and conference closing