Scientists on Big Data and Ethics: ‘Design Systems that Meet Our Values’

Working with large data sets means thinking about the ethics of this data. The recent scandal surrounding Facebook and Cambridge Analytica once again underlines the necessity for a critical, ethical approach, especially in the academic and public domains. The fact that data sets can be utilized for numerous issues does not mean they may be and the fact that data may be utilised does not necessarily mean it should be. And when the decision is finally taken to utilize data to resolve issues or improve services, fundamental questions will remain on the subject of ethics and privacy. Who actually owns the data? How can we ensure that security and privacy are safeguarded? How can we involve the people whose data is used?

These key questions were discussed during the ‘Ethics of Big Data’ symposium organized by the Centre for BOLD Cities and the Rotterdam Knowledge Lab for Urban Big Data. Academics from Leiden, Delft and Rotterdam and municipal officials came together during the symposium to address major ethical issues relating to the use of data. The tone was immediately set by Prof. Jeroen van den Hoven, Professor of Ethics and Technology at Delft University of Technology [and scientific director of the Delft Design for Values Institute], who pointed out that discussion alone is not enough.

The theory is interesting, said Van den Hoven, but the main ethical values will need to be anchored in the design of the systems that use data. ‘If we do not design systems that meet our values,’ he said, ‘we can expect commercial parties to design these systems themselves. Their main objectives focus on completely different issues than public values.’

Read the rest of this article at the Leiden / Delft / Erasmus website