The Germans are ahead of other countries when it comes to data ethics and responsible use of data and AI. The government established a Data Ethics Commission in 2018 and has published and opinion on data ethics covering both data … Read More
Danish companies want to make it a competitive advantage to behave ethically with personal data and are therefore about to establish a seal for ‘good IT security and responsible data use’. It is backed by the Danish government, and The … Read More
Today elections around the world face problems like violence, corruption, long waiting time, accessibility, affordability and privacy. Blockchain systems promise new opportunities for storing data and securing trust and transparency, but how can they be used to secure elections? Decentralized … Read More
“Careful and transparent consideration should always be given to the questions of why, for whom, when, and how transitions to digital systems take place”, Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, Philip Alston, states in a report that was … Read More
HighLights. Data democracy vs data dictatorship and data monopolies. AI and ethics. Individual data control. These topics went through thorough examination at this year’s DataEthics Forum, where participants from South Africa over the US and all of Europe met and … Read More
In 1996 David Brin published a thought experiment on Wired. During an evening in Hamburg I discussed this thought experiment, but I wouldn’t have thought that only a day later arriving in Copenhagen for the Data Ethics Forum, this thought … Read More
Watch DataEthics.eu, AccessNow, AlgoritmWatch and Element.ai in panel debate at Mozilla Festival 2019 on Governing AI.
DataEthics’ Mozilla fellow 2019/20 is now announced. Each year Mozilla Fellows embed at a host organization. Fellows and host organizations are supported by the Ford Foundation, Mozilla and others and work alongside each other fighting for digital rights. See … Read More
Here’s some of the fine recommendations from experts in rights and ethics, law, social science, culture, politics and economy in The Human Brain Project who gathered in March 2019 in Copenhagen to discuss what is needed for AI to be … Read More
An upcoming new media company had to put a lot of effort into finding a newsletter provider where you can turn off tracking. Compared to most traditional media, who track us all like they were Google or Facebook, this coming … Read More
No way should we let machines and data take over from humans in health care. But we should let machines assist us in the hard work, where they are better than humans. The overriding question is; how much control and … Read More
How to put human values into voice assistants and to make the digital infrastructure more human centric. Those were two of more topics at the German DLD conference – first time in Brussels – in September. Do watch the videos. … Read More
A study from University of Zürich looks at how the insurance companies use data to assess, select, price, predict and prevent risks. Big Data analytics and Artificial Intelligence are used in areas such as telematics in car insurance, fraud detection, … Read More
By Gry Hasselbalch and Sille Obelitz Søe How can we trust AI? This is one of the most pressing questions we are facing at the moment with the rapid speed in development of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning algorithms. … Read More
Research. Dark patterns are increasingly common on digital platforms including social media websites, shopping websites, mobile apps, and video game. The design is everything from annoying to deceiving. New report from Princeton University on how to trick users into giving … Read More
According to professor in information science Helen Nissenbaum data protection should apply for all types of information – and not just personal information. In her book ‘Privacy In Context’, she argues that we have a dicotomatic understanding of privacy: something … Read More
All you need is a URL. Share it. Go there and you are in the video meeting. No need to create an account or download an app or any software. Most people use US-based video conference tools in stead of … Read More
The GDPR emphasize that when processing data, the design of systems, apps etc must support the principles of fundamental data protection, including the principle of data minimisation. Many games and free apps have previously tracked all kinds of data about … Read More
The British data protection watchdog ICO is investigating how personal data is used in digital ads. It does not look good. In an interim report, the ad tech industry is blamed for not protecting our data sufficiently in the real … Read More
Fierce competition, ethics and regulations. Such are the answers from Europe and part of the US in a discussion at the Brussels Forum by the German Marshall Fund about how to safeguard our democracies. The packed agenda ended with a … Read More
“In a world of connected toys, communications platforms and information services it is extremely difficult for parents and children to to make informed choices or exercise any control over the way services use children’s data. “Often the only choice in … Read More
If individuals control their own data, they control their own lives and neither government nor big companies can manipulate us economically or politically. There is a long way to go for that, but there is a growing movement around ‘my … Read More
The policy recommendations of the EU High Level Group on AI were published 26th June 2019. DataEthics.eus cofounder Gry Hasselbalch was one of the 52 experts assigned with the tasks to create ethical guidelines (published earlier this year) and policy … Read More
Interview with Mette Nordahl Svendsen, professor in anthropology and member of the steering group of the Challenge project, researching all the ethical issues involved in health data science. When you are old, sick and cannot speak or move, you need … Read More
Summary of Research Article: Data ethics is gaining momentum. Citizens are starting to act on their lack of control over their data, legislation is adapting, and alternative business models and technologies are emerging. But what shape is our ethical awareness … Read More
Analysis. Late April 2019, Denmark was blessed with the formation of a Data Ethics Board. We were many who perhaps was a bit dazzled by this and may have lowered our guards a bit. However, at the exact same time, … Read More
As the internet of things evolves, it will eventually become what Steen Rasmussen calls “the internet of everything”. It will be a super infrastructure that is connected to every aspect of our lives and thus a way to gather personal … Read More
Mozilla Internet Health Report 2019 This year’s annual report from Mozilla focuses on three issues, AI, digital advertising and cities, not smart cities, but how city governments and civil society can work togeter to make the internet healthier. Mozilla writes: … Read More
Blog. When Apple blocked by default all third party cookies in its Safari-browser, Facebook and others made a circumvention and used a first party cookie to track us. Apple is back with an answer to that. The ad tech industry … Read More
News. Facial recognition is a critical technology for us to debate before we deploy it all over to catch criminals, make a profit on selling the technology or using it to reduce headcount by replacing humans. San Francisco just banned … Read More
News. Human Rights Watch (HRW) got access to an app, “Integrated Joint Operations Platform” (IJOP), which they say the Chinese authority in the western Xinjiang region uses to surveil and categorise the local population. By ‘reverse engineering’ HRW was able … Read More
Blog. We are forgetting the nature of humans, when we are applying the methods of computer problems. Human ability to think in the whole can never pass on to the computer whose language is binary encoding of data. And human … Read More
Blog. Obtaining relevant patient data for pharmaceutical and medical research in Europe is no easy task. To keep pace with American and Chinese companies there is a solution: Let European citizens exercise their right to a copy of their data, … Read More
BLOG. If we want to use personal data to enhance our lives and society, we need to do it in a way that can be trusted and does not compromise our privacy. Danish scientists offer a solution where data is … Read More
Get this article in Spanish here Blog. The future is lying in the cities. In 1950, approximately 1 billion people were living in urbanized areas on our planet; by the end of this century UN projections forecast that 85% of the world … Read More
The EU’s first ethics guidelines on AI have been published. Dataethics.eu’s cofounder Gry Hasselbalch is a member of the EC High Level Expert Group that developed the guidelines. She sat down on the day of the launch and outlined her … Read More
Blog. We went from Age of Humans to Age of Google in just 20 years. You can never trust Google to tell the truth and the whole truth about what the data monopoly knows about you. But here is how … Read More
Blog. The global AI race has been on for a while. It is about speedy automation, and China and the US are heading in a fierce competition, where human autonomy is secondary to economic growth. China operates as a ‘data … Read More
News. The Chinese app TikTok (former Musical.ly) has been fined under the American privacy law COPPA for disturbing practices towards children. Is YouTube next? The American Federal Trade Commission (FTC) alleges that the app TikTok for years directed their service … Read More
News. What happens when you want to dispatch yourselves from the Big Five: Amazon, Google, Facebook, Microsoft, and Apple? Is it possible? US-journalist Kashmir Hill set out for a 6-weeks period to figure out how to disconnect herself from the … Read More
Event. The fourth European Data Ethics Forum will be Thursday October 10th in Copenhagen at CFL. We (DataEthics.eu and our cool partner Danish IT) already have a bunch of truely interesting speakers such as UN Global Pulse, who has 75 … Read More
Analysis. Permissionless public blockchain technology could challenge large social networks such as Facebook, where users have to accept the fact that they have to give away their data in order to be a part of the network. With the European … Read More
Blog. The Chinese Government’s role in China’s tech revolution and application of AI is huge and clever – and according to Kai-Fu Lee, a Chinese-American investor, China will very soon catch up with and possibly surpass the US in artificial … Read More
From our own world. Three exciting events coming up this spring. And mark you calendars for October 10th where the 4th European Data Ethics Forum will take place in Copenhagen. Our thinkdotank participates in many international meetings giving expert advice … Read More
Analysis. Micro-targeting and data analytics in political campaigns disregard voters’ personal privacy and they cannot make truly informed choices. Facebook is lying when they say they don’t sell data and chose profits over security. And social media should be accountable … Read More
News. A new way of getting you to pay the optimal price – according to the seller – is to higher the price, the closer you get to a physical store, according to a story In Yahoo Finance. But this … Read More
Blog. 2o18 was the year of the techlash. Mainly driven by the revelations of Facebook’s yearlong laissez-faire with personal data and Cambridge Analytica’s abuse of it. Google, however, worries that they are next, and there is a good reason for … Read More
Study. At least 13 jurisdictions in the US are currently using predictive policing systems or have previously been engaged in predictive policing pilots. An examination of the implications of using dirty data with predictive policing shows an elevated risks of … Read More
Analysis. By relying on data profiling and even more data predictions, we risk loosing our human senses and intuition. We risk replacing fundamental human skills with data analysis and machine learning. It is easy and convenient, and it is already … Read More
Blog. Are we seeing a Europe working towards prohibiting the fundamental surveillance business model of Facebook, Google and the ad tech industry? So, it seems from a recent German antitrust decision and a EU comment. In February the German antitrust … Read More
Today the spaces we move in are extended by digital infrastructures that tracks us by default. Surveillance has become ordinary. Conducted by not only state actors, but also commercial actors and embedded in the digital and physical architecture and atmospheres … Read More
Activity tracking technologies, also known as wearables, are technologies that track your every step, pulse, pace, active minutes and even sleep. Data from these devices are not only used for good but can be misused to learn about individual health … Read More
Analysis. The French data protection authority, CNIL, finds that Google – with its dominant market position and its economic model based on data – deprives users of essential privacy rights, and thus has issued the biggest fine ever of 50 … Read More
Blog. Anything that can be predicted will be predicted. Such were the words in one of many events in Davos during World Economic Forum 2019. Artificial intelligence, privacy and ethics and data for good use were among the hot topics … Read More
News. How do we make sure that artificial intelligence (AI) in judicial systems are compliant with international standards like the European Convention on Human Rightsand the Council of Europe convention on data protection? According to Council of Europe a brand … Read More
Analysis. In the discussion of decision-making in autonomous cars we must be aware of the data these system have access to. On what basis are autonomous cars going to determine humans right to life? And are we willing to take … Read More
News. For years the US has been investigating the data broker industry. Now Europe are taking a closer look into their activities. For years, data brokers have operated in the shadows, but with GDPR and a shift in public opinion … Read More
Report. Go beyond GDPR and ban sending personally identifiable data out to advertising networks. Such are the recommendation from the British New Economics Foundation, who is working to transform the economy to work for people and the planet, in its … Read More
The High-Level Expert Group on Artificial Intelligence, which was appointed by the European Commission this summer has released the first draft of its Ethics Guidelines for the development and use of artificial intelligence (AI). In this document, the independent group of 52 experts, … Read More
Blog. For each year passing by more children are getting online, and younger children are spending more and more of their day online. A new study from the UK Children’s Commissioner is on a very important mission: To kickstart thoughts … Read More
Blog. Knowledge is power! And therefore, knowledge must be managed with great responsibility. Many librarians and information professionals are aware and devoted to this when building bridges between people and knowledge. Knowledge as a concept can have many approaches. … Read More
Artificial intelligence, AI, is a popular topic. A future scenario, in which everything and everyone are connected via intelligent machines and networks that constantly exchange data which decides our options and defines and guides us, is no longer science fiction; … Read More
News. The era of data ethics is upon us—and only those with the highest standards will win over global customers, says an article in SAP’s magasine The D!gitalist who is also listing new models for data management once consumers and … Read More
News. Privacy International has filed complaints against 7 data brokers (Acxiom, Oracle), ad-tech companies (Criteo, Quantcast, Tapad), and credit referencing agencies (Equifax, Experian) with data protection authorities in France, Ireland, and the UK. It is a huge, well-research set of complaints that … Read More
Blog. Learning processes and tests at schools and universities are typically highly personal. Therefore in the past, these data have not been shared. Now, researchers at The Technical University of Denmark, have found a way to share these data without … Read More
Research. New study casts doubt on the ability of new technology to target effectively. Many people believe that we are all being micro-targetted with manipulative ads and messages from politicians. But an Australian study proves different. Personalised advertising may be … Read More
Blog. The word trust is often used in discussions about data ethics. But what is the relation between trust and ethics? Which values are inviolable and worth fighting for? In ethics and moral theory it is common to distinguish between … Read More
Blog. Report from the 40th International Conference of Data Protection and Privacy Commissioners. Big tech, capitalising big on other peoples’ data, were scolded. Others hit the roof talking about saving democracy and humanity. Facebook has at least 11 ways of … Read More
Blog. Many might assume that their freedom of speech is protected online. The internet is a global structure connecting us all, and to many it might seem like a public space, but the social platforms we use to communicate with … Read More
DataEthics.eu is invited to participate in the 40th International Conference of Data Protection and Privacy Commissioners Debating Ethics. We are part of a Creative Café involving ‘specially invited knowledge holders’ discussing ‘How To Move Forward In Digital Ethics?’ Below are … Read More
Paper. The rise of the ethical technology debate runs in parallel to the increasing resistance to any regulation at all. Assistant professor Ben Wagner is worried that the focus on ethics can be used as a way of getting around … Read More
EVENT. DPO Julia Sommer has done some great drawings from European DataEthics Forum 2018. You can read more about the conference here and here. See you next year. Sign up to our monthly newsletter to get the news about it. … Read More
EVENT. With the third European DataEthics Forum in Copenhagen we once again demonstrated that we are way beyond talking about data ethics. We do it. And this year we went deeper with for example demonstrations of how to explain an … Read More
Report. With AI technologies evolving and being integrated into our society, the possible dangers connected with AI are becoming more real than ever. These risks involve the emerging of surveillance governments, the creation of unfair and discriminating systems and societies, … Read More
Blog. Third party audits and a global committee to approve of (new use of) new technologies to make sure global human right and ethical principles are respected. Those are two of the concrete suggestions coming out of a global governance … Read More
News. Bad data can seriously impact on fundamental rights and liberties. Therefore, Spanish-based Eticas Foundation has launched a BAD DATA Challenge, a research, mobilization and awareness project that aims to demystify data and question whether the quality and accuracy of … Read More
Blog. Google’s plan of building a neighborhood in Toronto is moving forward. Until recently, urban planning was done by public authorities where the public had a right to know what was going on. These days might be over. There is … Read More
NEWS: Robots and AI real life actors were 20th Century figments of sci fi imagination. But increasingly robots, robotic and AI technologies are embedded in our every day lives acting in and transforming our culture, economy and society. Are we prepared … Read More
Report. Concerns for privacy is an explanation for the growth in ad-blocking software according to a new report from Reuters Institute. It also looks at how we get our news. Almost one third (31%) of all the people questioned in … Read More
Event. We’ve heard much about ‘black box algorithms and AI’. Secret systems that analyse and predicts your credit score and search results, your likability of getting the flue or winning a game. ‘Black box’ means secret, a business secret just … Read More
Study. A wide EU-study shows that 92% of the airline ticket websites, 76% of hotel room websites, and 41% of websites selling sports shoes personalise offers, when a consumer enters the site. The price differentiation, though, seems to be very … Read More
Research. Google sucks up more personal data than most people could imagine. Even when a Chrome browser is in “incognito” mode, shows new research form Vanderbilt University. Google denies it and tries to miscredit the professor behind. Get a list … Read More
Who should be the most autonomous. Cars? Chat bots? AI based doctors? Or Humans? Humans, of course, and if we aim to keep humans behind the wheel, we need data ethical considerations on top of our privacy policies. But what … Read More
Blog. Do you want to know, if a service sits on your personal data and what it does with it? With one click you can ask more than 60 of the bigger companies instead of writing them one by one. … Read More
Research. Businesses, politicians and scholars all call for property rights in data. But this should be avoided according to a research paper from University of Californation. “Various parties are actively staking their claims to data on the Internet of Things, … Read More
EVENT. The woman who is fighting Facebook. The man who is fighting Google. A bunch of privacy and data ethics focused startups and companies. And a wonderful international network of humans who are interested in using personal data in an … Read More
News. “Three-person babies. Extreme biohacking. Outposts on Mars. Cheating death. The changing nature of life as we know it. The future portends to be amazing (and terrifying), and it’s right around the corner.” This is how Medium is selling its … Read More
The new European legislative environment changes the relationship between users and their online data. Part of this change is represented by users gaining more control over who and when gets access to what type of personal information. In this context, … Read More
The UK government is asking the public sector to work with data in an ethical responsible way. Therefore they have released an ethical framework to spur data ethical innovation. It deals with 7 principles and are mainly initiatives done on … Read More
Translation of the chapter (written in 2017) from the book Eksponeret (Danish, Gads Forlag, May 2018). Citation: Hasselbalch G., “AI: The Data Ethics Perspective”, translation from Eksponeret, Gads Forlag, 2018. Artificial intelligent technologies are complex data processing systems that pose several ethical … Read More
Book Chapter. Profiling through cookies, IP addresses, apps, device fingerprinting and data brokers is getting more advanced, as are new technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, using microchips and sensors integrated into our homes, cars and cities. Everything we do online … Read More
REPORT. Imagine a future where Nordic citizens have full control over their health data and gave dynamic consent every time someone else but you want to access their health data. Individuals decide their own privacy policy, and in the event … Read More
Analysis. The most common tool in the most common business model of the Internet, is cookie tracking. Some visionary companies are showing the data ethics way with no cookies or with privacy-by-design cookies, and as users realize how easy it … Read More
Blog. Will you pay with money to read news, or are you okay with paying with your opinions? These are two options the Dutch start-up, the Playwall, offers media companies to obtain more users and income – and become less … Read More
News. The French insurance company MAIF is probably one of the first companies in the world, who can claim that it pays to treat other people’s data ethically responsible. Where is the money? For years impatient data ethics skeptics have … Read More
Pop the champagne corks. In a few weeks, GDPR is going to take effect throughout all of Europe. And at the last moment, some member states have decided to lower the digital age of consent to 13 – under the … Read More
Why does Snowden use Jitsi? I spoke to Emil Ivov, Chief Video Architect at Atlassian and the original author of Jitsi, about the upbringings of this project and its most used solutions: Jitsi Meet and meet.jit.si. We touched on building … Read More
RESEARCH. In a new report on Artificial Intelligence, the UK House of Lords promotes ethics as the centre of the development of artificial intelligence. The reports also paints a picture of a current AI field run by data monopolies. The report … Read More
The Danish company Spiir helps individuals make sense of their financial transaction. Financial personal data type is utterly valuable in today’s times in which whole industries depend on thorough risk assessments. Because of its importance in decreasing financial risks, this … Read More
INTERVIEW. With cloud computing being the sector developing most in the IT industry, close to all Europeans have their data hosted by a cloud storage service. Surely a high percentage of this article’s readers already know that in reality there … Read More