Who Owns My AI Twin? Data Ownership in a New World of Simulated Identities

TL;DR

This paper explores the legal and ethical implications of AI twins, advocating for recognizing individuals as owners of their digital replicas and proposing a human-centric data governance model.

Contribution

It introduces a new legal and ethical framework emphasizing personal ownership and autonomy over AI twins, challenging existing platform-centric data governance models.

Findings

Natural persons should be recognized as owners of their AI twins

Current legal frameworks are inadequate for AI-driven identities

A human-centric data governance model is proposed

Abstract

The emergence of AI twins, digital replicas that encapsulate an individual's knowledge, memories, psychological traits, and behavioral patterns, raises novel legal and ethical challenges for data governance and personal identity. Built from personal data, these systems require a rethinking of what it means to exercise dominion over one's data and to maintain personal autonomy in an AI-mediated environment. This article argues that natural persons should be recognized as the moral and legal owners of their AI twins, which function as intimate extensions of the self rather than as proprietary technological artifacts. It critiques prevailing legal frameworks that prioritize technological infrastructure and platform control over data and individual autonomy, exposing their structural limitations. In response, the article advances a human-centric model of data governance grounded in individual dominion and a private-by-default principle. This approach proposes a reimagined social contract for AI-driven identities that strengthens personal agency, promotes equitable data stewardship, and better aligns legal norms with the socio-technical realities of AI twins.