Author: Tjok Istri SintawatiEditor: Achmed Faiz Siregar

Ever imagined what it would be like to have a digital doppelganger? With physical, psychological, and even mental characteristics that resemble our own? Today, this is no longer just a fantasy because the latest technological developments have succeeded in making it a reality. The human digital twin (HDT) is a concept that reconstructs the relationship between humans and machines through real-time sensing and feedback to measure human behavior, performance, and environmental influences in a personalized manner.[1] Its development is intended to support human performance and encourage rapid decision-making processes in the realms of health, work, and daily activities. All of its potential makes this concept one of the core components of the upcoming development of Society 5.0. On the other hand, the increasingly blurred imaginary boundaries between humans and machines in the HDT concept lead us to important questions: what ethical considerations should be taken into account in the development of HDT? And how can humans negotiate agency with their digital twins?

HDT & How to Replicate Humans for the ‘Benefit’ of Humans Themselves

The HDT concept was developed from the Digital Twin (DT), a technology that creates a digital replica of a physical entity based on real-time data and models, as applied in the Internet of Things (IoT) and artificial intelligence (AI), which are also important components of Industry 4.0.[2] The fundamental difference between DT and HDT lies in the complexity of the data. HDT, which replicates human characteristics, also collects and analyzes more complex data on physiology, psychology, and human behavior.[3] HDT is fully personalized, with bidirectional, real-time data flows, generating real-time feedback mechanisms for guiding human activities and safety.[4] HDT is highly automated, enabling automated and high-fidelity simulation of human activities and conditions.[5]

Broadly speaking, HDT is formed through a process of data collection, modeling, and simulation. Data collection is generally obtained through sensors, either using in-situ sensing or non-contact sensing, to enable cognitive sharing and real-time interaction between the physical and digital worlds. Survey-based approaches can also be used to obtain data that is difficult to obtain through sensing methods, such as human emotions, cognitive states, social norms, and social contexts.[6] HDT modeling can take the form of human body/organ models (human body models and human organs models) and human behavior models (activity models, social interaction models, and lifestyle models).[7] Geometric human models, such as human body/organ models, can be created using CAD or CG software, while non-geometric human models, such as human behavior models, are typically created using programming languages ​​like Python and C++. Furthermore, simulation software enables this technology to simulate human activities according to their specific functions, such as medical software, ergonomic simulation software, game engines, and even video game simulations.

The potential of HDT continues to be developed in various domains, from healthcare and industry to everyday life.[8] In the healthcare domain, for example, HDT can be utilized in developing highly individualized treatment plans for each patient and has been developed to anticipate tumor development and formulate the most appropriate treatment strategies.[9] For sports and fitness, which are also related to healthcare, researchers have developed Smart Fit to monitor the physical condition of athletes to formulate training and diet plans. Meanwhile, HDT in the daily life realm, for example, has been applied in personalized clothing customization, as done by MagicWeaver Inc.[10]

Ethical Considerations in HDT Design and Development

Autonomy is fundamental to the discourse surrounding ethical considerations in the development of digital technologies, including digital technologies (HDT). Emerging technologies, such as HDT, have different ethical standards than established technologies. Debating the ethics of emerging technologies by intervening in underdeveloped spaces can significantly impact the future development of these technologies.[11] A crucial element of this ethical consideration is autonomy, which essentially underscores an individual’s capacity to make independent decisions. The digital era, as we know, is prone to obscuring human decision-making processes, such as intentionally altering the decision-making process without conscious awareness.[12]

The broader goal of developing HDT technology indirectly undermines human autonomy, particularly in terms of personal data ownership and decision-making that may not be authentically chosen by the individual. Personal data is the primary weapon for the development of personalized technology. HDT’s design, on the other hand, collects personal data at a more sensitive level due to the highly specific and confidential nature of individual data. The risk of online manipulation may be increased due to digital surveillance through this data collection.[13] Given the unequal power relations between humans and the platform within digital platforms, manipulation is possible, subordinating individual interests to those of capital owners.

The relationships fostered by HDT technology have the potential to create unequal bonds, making humans dependent on it. This can be exacerbated if humans are not given sufficient awareness and understanding of this process, leading to them being trapped solely by dominant narratives. The very design of HDT clearly exposes these vulnerabilities and can lead to destructive consequences, such as the devaluation of human capacities. In fact, even the purely beneficent purpose of technology can be harmful.[14]

In the Indonesian context, the parent technology of HDT, DT, has been implemented, for example, in the smart city concept.[15] Furthermore, academics are also beginning to explore the possibility of implementing DT with digital governance in Indonesia.[16] While discourse and development of HDT technology may be limited in Indonesia at present, one area that is beginning to attract academic attention for HDT implementation is the healthcare sector.[17] The healthcare sector also appears to be a top priority for other countries in HDT development, such as Europe through the Virtual Human Twins (VHT) initiative.[18] It’s important to note that there are still gaps in Indonesia’s preparedness to mitigate emerging ethical risks. In the policy realm, for example, Indonesia has a Personal Data Protection Law (PDP Law) to ensure a more secure digital ecosystem, but in the realm of cybersecurity infrastructure, the system is still suboptimal, leading to rampant personal data leaks.

Negotiating Agency between Humans and HDT

Essentially, HDT was developed with the aim of supporting human agency, or in other words, helping people achieve desired outcomes. The agency itself allows individuals to gain greater control over their mental functions.[19] In this context, HDT can be imagined as a proxy agent that acts as a tool to help people achieve their goals. Proxy agents, like digital technology, are used by humans when they feel they have limited means to achieve a particular goal or when they believe that another person or tool can perform a better job of achieving it.[20]

Giving HDT control over data acquisition and decision-making signals that the agency is being negotiated between humans and digital technology. On the one hand, humans may derive positive benefits from HDT in achieving certain goals, but on the other hand, HDT may unwittingly alter important aspects of human identity, such as deeper forms of human development, including forms of cognition, exploratory behavior, and contextual judgment.[21] In this scenario, agency cannot be imagined as something independently formed by humans but rather as the result of bidirectional mediation between human intention and algorithmic systems or digital infrastructure. The danger is if this relationship leads to dependency rather than human empowerment.

Another possible consequence of this situation is the erosion of the authenticity of individual identity. HDT algorithms are shaped by rationality, efficiency, and effectiveness, which have the potential to degrade the human experience in its essence as a social being. Digital technological interventions such as HDT, which duplicate humans in person, have the potential to further degrade the ontological boundaries between humans and digital technology.

Conclusion

HDT offers the potential to explore the limits of existing digital technologies. Its development must continue to be grounded in ethical considerations that empower humans rather than degrade their individual capacities. The government’s efforts to encourage technological development while addressing digital ethics through regulations such as the National Railway Roadmap White Paper can be a good starting point for realizing this goal. Therefore, if HDT is developed in Indonesia in the future, it will not be a dependent relationship but rather a proxy agent for humans in achieving their goals.

[1] Miller, M.E. and Spatz, E., 2022. A unified view of a human digital twin. Human-Intelligent Systems Integration, 4(1), pp.23-33.

[2] Lin, Y., Chen, L., Ali, A., Nugent, C., Cleland, I., Li, R., Ding, J. and Ning, H., 2024. Human digital twin: A survey. Journal of Cloud Computing, 13(1), p.131

[3] Shengli, W., 2021. Is human digital twin possible?. Computer Methods and Programs in Biomedicine Update, 1, p.100014.

[4] Zhu, E. and Yang, S., 2025. Towards Human Digital Twin: Reviewing Human Modelling and Simulation. Journal of Industrial Information Integration, p.100975.

[5] Ibid.

[6] Ibid.

[7] Wang, B., Zhou, H., Li, X., Yang, G., Zheng, P., Song, C., Yuan, Y., Wuest, T., Yang, H. and Wang, L., 2024. Human Digital Twin in the context of Industry 5.0. Robotics and Computer-Integrated Manufacturing, 85, p.102626.

[8] Ibid.

[9] Mourtzis, D., Angelopoulos, J., Panopoulos, N. and Kardamakis, D., 2021. A smart IoT platform for oncology patient diagnosis based on ai: Towards the human digital twin. Procedia CIRP, 104, pp.1686-1691.

[10] Idrees, S., Gill, S. and Vignali, G., 2024. Mobile 3D body scanning applications: a review of contact-free AI body measuring solutions for apparel. The Journal of The Textile Institute, 115(7), pp.1161-1172.

[11] Brey, P., 2017. Ethics of emerging technology. The ethics of technology: Methods and approaches, pp.175-191.

[12] Susser, D., Roessler, B. and Nissenbaum, H., 2019. Technology, autonomy, and manipulation. Internet policy review, 8(2), pp.1-22.

[13] Ibid.

[14] Ibid.

[15] Institut Teknologi Bandung, 2021. Prof. Suhono Ungkap manfaat digital twin di berbagai aspek,. Available at: https://itb.ac.id/berita/prof-suhono-ungkap-manfaat-digital-twin-di-berb... (Accessed: 27 January 2026).

[16] Husni, H.S., Gaol, F.L., Supangkat, S.H. and Ranti, B., 2022. Digital twin concept for indonesia digital government information technology governance. International Journal Science and Technology, 1(2), pp.45-52.

[17] Zein, W.A.A., Fadlil, A., Biddinika, M.K. and Yulianto, D., 2025. Aplikasi Mobile Native untuk Digital Cockpit pada Sistem Human Digital Twin. Jurnal Algoritma, 22(2), pp.77-89.

[18] Shaping Europe’s digital future, 2025. European Virtual human twins (VHT) initiative. Available at: https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/policies/virtual-human-twins (Accessed: 27 January 2026).

[19] Neff, G. and Nagy, P., 2018. Agency in the digital age: Using symbiotic agency to explain human–technology interaction. In A networked self and human augmentics, artificial intelligence, sentience (pp. 97-107). Routledge.

[20] Ibid.

[21] Bar-Gil, O., 2025. The Google self as digital human twin: implications for agency, memory, and identity. AI & SOCIETY, pp.1-16.