ABOUT PEOPLE LIKE YOU
Personalisation is changing many parts of contemporary life, from the way we shop and communicate to the kinds of public services we access. We are told that purchases, experiences, treatments, and interactions can all be customised to an optimum.

As a group of scientists, sociologists, anthropologists and artists, we are exploring how personalisation actually works. What are optimum outcomes? Do personalising practices have unintended consequences?

We argue that personalisation is not restricted to a single area of life and that personalised practices develop, interact and move between different sites and times. The project is split into four areas: personalised medicine and care; data science; digital cultures; interactive arts practices.

People Like You: Contemporary Figures of Personalisation is funded by a Collaborative Award in the Medical Humanities and Social Sciences from The Wellcome Trust, 2018–2022.

Programme

10:30 Coffee and refreshments

11.00 – 13:00 Portraits of ‘People Like You’: Conversations with artists in residence

Introduced by Sophie Day (People Like You)

Felicity Allen, Stefanie Posavec and Di Sherlock present their art-work and discuss the themes of People Like You with Lucy Kimbell (University of the Arts London)

13:00 – 14:00 Lunch

14.00 – 15:30 What is personalisation?

Introduced by Celia Lury (People Like You)

What is personalisation, in practice? Sandeep Ahluwalia (Synthesia) and others present on their work with personalisation, followed by a roundtable facilitated by Jon Ainger (Impower).

15:30 – 16:00 Break

16:00 – 17:30 “Any Questions?”

Introduced by Helen Ward (People Like You)

Timandra Harkness addresses the future of personalisation, putting questions from the audience to a panel including Reema Patel (Ada Lovelace Institute), Natalie Banner (Wellcome Trust), Sanjay Sharma (Warwick) and Rosa Curling (Foxglove).