Why We Need Community-Driven Tech Ethics: Two Years of the Global Data Ethics Project

Sep 18, 2019 12:50 PM ET

Published on techatbloomberg.com on September 15, in conjunction with the Data for Good Exchange 2019 conference at Bloomberg's headquarters in New York City. 

"As more data scientists and technologists become aware of the unintended consequences of their algorithmic work, there has been a commensurate demand for better education, training and community-building around ethical data science tools, advocacy and methodologies. The data practitioners themselves are voicing emergent ethical concerns in industry, in civic tech organizations, and anywhere data is being used, analyzed and applied. We are on the ground, writing the code. Many of us are aware of the impact that our work — including its unintended consequences — is having on civil society.

Today’s Data for Good Exchange 2019 conference in New York City marks the two-year anniversary of a joint initiative by BrightHive, Bloomberg and Data for Democracy that was announced at Data for Good Exchange 2017. At the time of its inception, data ethics was not mainstream, but it is an essential part of the conversation now. This is — in large part — due to collaborative grassroots efforts, including our own, which invigorated distributed networks of concerned volunteers from different disciplines around the world.

Read the full article at techatbloomberg.com.