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Digital Twins for Sustainable Development: Silver Bullet or Silicon Cage?

Author

Listed:
  • Leslie Paul Thiele

    (Department of Political Science, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA)

  • Glen Billesbach

    (Sustainability Studies and the Center for Adaptive Innovation, Resilience, Ethics and Science (UF CAIRES), University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA)

Abstract

Digital twins are computer-generated replicas that simulate complex systems based on continuous, bidirectional, and potentially multimodal data flow between the virtual and physical. As digital twins enable the analysis of the full lifecycle of entities, processes, and organizations, they are increasingly employed to advance sustainable development. Digital twins can improve the monitoring and measurement of natural resources, their efficient use, and their effective protection. But there are also risks involved. They may intensify surveillance, normalize technocratic control, and narrow interpretive horizons. Employing illustrative cases of their use, we assess the benefits of digital twins for sustainable development. In turn, we expose prominent risks and place them in a theoretical framework. While the technology promises more comprehensive accountability, improved efficiency, and heightened predictive capacity, it may also imprison the analog—individuals, organizations, and the natural world—in digital dictates and conformities. The challenge that we address is how sustainable development can be advanced by digital twin technology without degrading the capacities and complexities of people and planet.

Suggested Citation

  • Leslie Paul Thiele & Glen Billesbach, 2026. "Digital Twins for Sustainable Development: Silver Bullet or Silicon Cage?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 18(16), pages 1-18, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:18:y:2026:i:16:p:8101-:d:2011315
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