Finding a job, accessing education, dealing with public authorities and participating in society increasingly involves digital technologies. For migrants living in Europe, this means that integration is becoming not only a social and legal process, but also a digital one.
A contribution by Claudio Di Maio, from the University of Calabria, examines this transformation, looking at the relationship between algorithms, digital evidence and migrant integration.
What do algorithms have to do with migration?
Algorithms are already part of many services people encounter every day. They can sort information, identify patterns and help make decisions. In areas such as employment and education, digital systems can potentially help match people with opportunities or assess information about their skills and experience. But technology does not automatically make processes fairer or more inclusive. When an automated system works with incomplete or biased data, it may fail to reflect an individual’s real circumstances. For migrants, this can be particularly significant. Qualifications, professional experience or other aspects of a person’s background may not always be fully captured by the data available to a digital system.
The result is an important question: can a tool designed to make processes more efficient also create new obstacles to inclusion?
When data becomes evidence
Di Maio’s contribution also considers the growing importance of digital evidence. Information stored or generated digitally can help institutions understand aspects of a person’s identity, education, professional experience and social circumstances.
This can create new opportunities. Digital information may make it easier to demonstrate qualifications, access services or establish aspects of an individual’s situation.
At the same time, relying increasingly on digital evidence raises questions that are relevant to everyone: What information is being used? Who can access it? How is it interpreted? And can a person understand or challenge a decision based on it?
For migrants, these questions can have a direct impact on their ability to access opportunities and participate fully in their new communities.
Digital inclusion is part of social inclusion
There is another side to the digitalisation of integration: having access to technology does not necessarily mean being able to use it effectively.
Differences in digital skills, access to devices, language barriers and unfamiliarity with online systems can make everyday digital processes more difficult. A public service may be available online, for example, but that does not mean that everyone can access it in the same way.
This makes digital inclusion an increasingly important part of social inclusion. Technology can help remove barriers, but only if digital systems are designed with different users and circumstances in mind.
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Why does this matter beyond migration?
The questions raised by Di Maio’s contribution are not limited to migration policy. As algorithms and digital decision-making become more common in employment, education and public services, they can influence opportunities and outcomes for many people.
Migration provides a particularly important perspective on this wider transformation because migrants may encounter several digital systems while simultaneously navigating a new language, unfamiliar institutions and different administrative procedures.
The contribution therefore invites a broader reflection on what an inclusive digital Europe should look like: one in which technology supports participation without creating new forms of exclusion.
Connecting research and dialogue
The themes addressed in Di Maio’s contribution also formed part of discussions within the EUPeace Migration and Human Rights Research Hub. The exchange developed in the Hub’s seminars and meetings was instrumental in shaping the analytical framework for the relationship between digital evidence, algorithms and the integration of migrants in European societies.
As European societies become increasingly digital, understanding these questions is becoming essential — not only for migration policy, but for anyone who wants technology to contribute to a more inclusive society.
