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Abstract:
We analyze empirical cases drawn from our work with national identification systems in Ghana, India, and Denmark. In each case, we identify the role of seamlessness and describe its political implications for people who use these systems. We agree that such systems make life easier and even increase the possibility of making rights claims for many, but contend that whether this ease represents a significant improvement in their everyday lives remains an open question. There is no straightforward yes/no answer to this question; thus, our efforts in this chapter are oriented toward exploring participation in debates over what kinds of digital identification systems are ultimately built, or even whether such systems should be built in the first place. In short, we seek to provide a political perspective on digital identification systems by arguing that rights claims, not seamless operation, must be a primary concern for designing any technological system that operates at the scale of a nation state.
Citation
Cakici, Baki, Thiel, Alena and Singh, Ranjit. “The politics of seamlessness: a rights claims perspective on digital identification technologies” In Digitalization in Practice: Intersections, Implications and Interventions edited by Jessamy Perriam and Katrine Meldgaard Kjær, 93-108. Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter, 2024. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110787641-006