by Janus Boye
Data ethics might sound like an esoteric topic, but in our digital world, it’s increasingly something that both individuals and organisations are beginning to consider. Data ethics or perhaps rather lack thereof have already had a dramatic impact on the world scene with far-reaching implications towards democracy and probably more aspects of our daily lives than we think.
I recently spoke to Copenhagen-based Pernille Tranberg as she talked about data, privacy, digital self defence, and what you can do as an organisation or individual.
Pernille is co-founder of the European think-do-tank Dataethics.eu and our expert of the month.
Working towards a data democracy
Earlier this year, Pernille went to Davos to participate in the World Economic Forum. According to Pernille, one of the biggest discussions this year, is how we can do AI in an ethically responsible way.
Her answer is a so-called data democracy. In a data democracy, you can control your data. This could be data on your recent purchases, on your whereabouts, recent clicks, search history, or everything you do on the screen.
As she said highlighting just some of the benefits of data:
You can get valuable insights, improve your health, your finances and improve your career
Data democracy is different than a data dictatorship as practiced in some countries or a data monopoly as currently practiced by the tech giants.
To get to a data democracy, we need a higher level of data literacy and perhaps even some data activism. That’s one of the reasons, Pernille co-founded the politically independent Dataethics think-do-tank back in 2015.
A human-centric approach to data technology and business development
As back in 2015, the norm today remains invisible data processing where people have no control nor insight into the interests behind, no knowledge of how their data is used, and with what consequences it has for them as individuals.
The recent global discussion around the introduction of COVID tracing apps illustrated the importance of data ethics. With countries taking different approaches and some even with strict instructions from tech giants on how to develop the apps.
At Dataethics, they maintain a list of tools and research that aims to help and inform. It takes time to raise awareness and besides her involvement in Dataethics, Pernille also teaches students in elementary schools in Copenhagen and regularly holds lectures for corporations to increase their understanding of the topic.
She’s also involved in a larger research grant on how personal data is used ethically in research to help us all age better.
Some very practical examples of data ethics
To quote digital policy expert Kristina Podnar, who recently hosted Pernille on a podcast:
For everyone working in digital, what Pernille has to say is relevant. When she talks about her work with actual enterprises, when she shares how LEGO is doing it right, that’s what gets attention.
To get a glimpse of this work, have a look at this 2018 article on LEGO and the lesson of constructing privacy that works. To quote from the opening:
Lego sets an example for all companies that target children, says Pernille Tranberg
A more recent example is from the museum world. Earlier this year, Pernille wrote a blog post on how Danish museum Arken had ethical thoughts before choosing their new webinar tool. Read “You Cannot Make a Technology Where One-Size-Fits All”.
Learn more about Pernille Tranberg
Pernille has also published a few books including:
Data Ethics – The New Competitive Advantage together with Gry Hasselbach
Fake It - on digital self defence with Steffan Heuer
Back in 2016, we published this article based on a conversation with Pernille: Defining Your Company’s Data Ethics Is A Great Opportunity And Competitive Advantage.