Carl Öhman

Dr Carl Öhman, Associate Professor in Political Science at Uppsala University (Sweden), received his PhD from the University of Oxford in 2020. His research concerns AI, data privacy, governance, and what happens to our data when we die.

His first book, The Afterlife of Data, was named one of the ten best books of 2024 by, among others, Nature, The Economist, and The Guardian. His forthcoming book, Gods of Data, offers a critique of the AI-driven society from the perspective of the philosophy of religion.

Öhman has received several awards for his research, including the Oscar Prize, awarded annually since 1879 to the most promising young researcher at Uppsala University, as well as the UK Early Career Researcher Award, given to the top young British researcher within each discipline.

In addition to his academic work, Öhman is a frequently invited speaker in both the public and private sectors and regularly appears in media outlets such as The New York Times, The Guardian, The Washington Post, and the BBC. In 2025, he won the distinction “Best in Sweden at Communicating Research”, awarded through the public-engagement competition Forskar Grand Prix organised by Public and Science Sweden.

A selection of his more recent speaking engagements includes:

• The Afterlife of Data. Closing keynote speaker, International Association of Privacy Professionals, Brussels, Belgium. Audience of 3,500.
• The Afterlife of Data. Opening keynote speaker, International Association of Privacy Professionals, London, UK. Audience of 700.
• What happens to your data when you die and why you should care. Closing keynote speaker, LabourDigital Conference, Zürich, Switzerland.
• Memory in the Machine. Presentation, The Conference, Malmö, Sweden.