The National Digital Twin Programme (NDTP) was launched by HM Treasury in 2018, with the new ethics strategy marking a key milestone for the programme. This government-led programme is committed to growing national capability in digital twinning technologies and processes throughout the country. A primary purpose of the programme is to develop the standards, processes and tools that will build the foundation of a functioning market in digital twins and enable pathways to growth.
A Digital Twin is a virtual model of an object, a system, or a process. It is connected to its real-world counterpart by a 2-way flow of right-time data. This helps policymakers test and understand the implications of decisions before they are taken. The Government aims to harness the potential of digital twins to enhance the nation’s economic, social, and environmental well-being. However, advances in these types of technologies provide policymakers with new ethical challenges.
The strategy sets out a number of ethical principles to ensure that the development, deployment, and operation of digital twins can contribute positively to inclusive growth, sustainable development, and the well-being of citizens.
The Technical Working Group for Ethics on the NDTP, of which Professor Tom Jackson (Chair) and Professor Ian Hodgkinson (core member) form part of co-created the seminal NDTP Ethics Framework, which is based on five key principles:
- Inclusive growth, sustainable development, and well-being
- Human-centred values and fairness
- Transparency and explainability
- Robustness, security, and safety
- Accountability
Further work is planned to fully develop these guidelines, ensuring that all nuances of digital twinning technologies are considered.
Speaking on the release of the Strategy, the Group’s Chair Professor Tom Jackson said: “I am delighted that the output of the Technical Working Group has been released and shared​ across UK Government. The collaboration and co-creation with our working group members has been key to this success.”
Professor Patrick J Baker (Dstl) Head of Science, Royal Air Force, and Chair of the NDTP Technical Committee said: “The outstanding effort of all involved within this work have given a clear and unambiguous steer to enable the United Kingdom NDTP towards undoubted success.”
The contributors to the ethics strategy were:
- Professor Tom Jackson – Loughborough University
- Professor Ian R. Hodgkinson – Loughborough University
- Dr Martine J. Barons – University of Warwick
- Professor Iain Phillips – Loughborough University
- Dr Veronica Bowman – Defence Science and Technology Laboratory
- Geoff Smith – Loughborough University (Visting Fellow)
- Jane Crowe – Open Data Institute
- Jessica Johnson – National Physical Laboratory