Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence are having an ever increasing impact on our lives. This presentation discusses some of the ethical issues associated with automated decision making systems, driven by machine learning and predictive models. It also provides a risk assessment framework for assessing the potential risks of such systems.
Giordano International, founded in Hong Kong in 1981, is now one of the world's leading international retailers of apparel and accessories for men, women and children. Giordano Middle East FZE, established in 1993, is a 100 % subsidiary of Giordano International and provides strategic, logistics, and management...
http://www.giordano-me.com/
Why Blockchain Matters to Big Data - Big Data London Meetup - Nov 3, 2016BigchainDB
Why does blockchain matter to Big Data?
Bruce Pon, CEO and Co-Founder of BigchainDB talks about how blockchain and big data work together.
Follow BigchainDB on LinkedIn, download the whitepaper or sign up with at the IPDB Foundation to get access to a first test network build with BigchainDB to build your own blockchain application.
Giordano International, founded in Hong Kong in 1981, is now one of the world's leading international retailers of apparel and accessories for men, women and children. Giordano Middle East FZE, established in 1993, is a 100 % subsidiary of Giordano International and provides strategic, logistics, and management...
http://www.giordano-me.com/
Why Blockchain Matters to Big Data - Big Data London Meetup - Nov 3, 2016BigchainDB
Why does blockchain matter to Big Data?
Bruce Pon, CEO and Co-Founder of BigchainDB talks about how blockchain and big data work together.
Follow BigchainDB on LinkedIn, download the whitepaper or sign up with at the IPDB Foundation to get access to a first test network build with BigchainDB to build your own blockchain application.
Smart Home • Sabrina Delale • Soutenance thèse pro MBA DMB Sabrina Delale
De la maison connectée à la maison intelligente : quelles perspectives business et marketing ?
Un marché dynamique où les frontières deviennent poreuses et les acteurs tendent à adopter une logique d’intégration verticale : la capacité à garder une longueur d’avance devient déterminante. Celle-ci va s’exprimer au travers de l’offre, des choix technologiques, de la relation client, du marketing… les impacts sont nombreux à tous les niveaux de l’entreprises. L’arrivée des GAFAMs bouscule le secteur et s’impose aux acteurs historiques.
*Note: please download from SlideShare the PDF version of these slides for high-resolution images of the figures/tables. The full 114-page written report can be found here: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3040224
Abstract: The first global blockchain benchmarking study presents a systematic and comprehensive picture of a rapidly evolving industry, examining how blockchain and distributed ledger technology (DLT) are being used in the public sector and enterprise. The study analysed non-publicly available data gathered from over 200 central banks, other public sector institutions, DLT start-ups, and established companies. Findings from the study include which protocols central banks and are testing (57% of surveyed central banks are experimenting with the Ethereum codebase), targeted use cases, emerging revenue models, timing of deployment, and key challenges.
Blockchain Beyond Finance - Cronos Groep - Jan 17, 2017BigchainDB
Towards the internet of value & trust.
"To develop shared global compute infrastructure,
we must first understand the status quo of infrastructure,
...and how to change it accordingly."
Dimitri De Jonghe, lead developer of BigchainDB talking about blockchain technology beyond the financial sector.
Managerial Ethics And Corporate Social Responsibility Sabih Kamran
MGT 201 Helpful Slides For Management Students Of Different Universities In Karachi And All Over Pakistan And World Managerial Ethics And Corporate Social Responsibility
Project DescriptionApply decision-making frameworks to IT-rela.docxbriancrawford30935
Project Description
Apply decision-making frameworks to IT-related ethical issues
There are several ethical theories described in Module 1: Ethical Theories. Module 2: Methods of Ethical Decision Making, describes frameworks for ethical analysis. For this paper, use the Reynolds Seven-Step approach to address the following:
· Describe a current IT-related ethical issue; and define a problem statement
· Analyze your problem using a decision-making framework chosen from Module 2.
· Discuss the applicable ethical theory from Module 1 that supports your decision.
· Prepare a minimum 3- 5 page, double-spaced paper.
· Use APA style and format. Provide appropriate American Psychological Association (APA) reference citations for all sources. In addition to critical thinking and analysis skills, your paper should reflect appropriate grammar and spelling, good organization, and proper business-writing style.
Each of Reynolds seven steps must be a major heading in your paper.
Here are some suggested issues-
1. Workplace Issue.
2. Privacy on the Web. What is happening now in terms of privacy on the Web? Think about recent abuses and improvements. Describe and evaluate Web site policies, technical and privacy policy protections, and current proposals for government regulations.
3. Personal Data Privacy Regulations in Other Countries. Report on personal data privacy regulations, Web site privacy policies, and governmental/law enforcement about access to personal data in one or more countries; e.g., the European Union. This is especially relevant as our global economic community expands and we are more dependent on non-US clients for e-Business over the Internet. (Note: new proposed regulations are under review in Europe.)
4. Spam. Describe new technical solutions and the current state of regulation. Consider the relevance of freedom of speech. Discuss the roles of technical and legislative solutions.
5. Computer-Based Crimes. Discuss the most prevalent types of computer crimes, such as Phishing. Analyze why and how these can occur. Describe protective measures that might assist in preventing or mitigating these types of crimes.
6. Government surveillance of the Internet. The 9/11 attacks on the US in 2001 brought many new laws and permits more government surveillance of the Internet. Is this a good idea? Many issues are cropping up daily in our current periodicals!
7. The Digital Divide. Does it exist; what does it look like; and, what are the ethical considerations and impact?
8. Privacy in the Workplace: Monitoring Employee Web and E-Mail Use. What are current opinions concerning monitoring employee computer use. What policies are employers using? Should this be authorized or not? Policies are changing even now!
9. Medical Privacy. Who owns your medical history? What is the state of current legislation to protect your health information? Is it sufficient? There are new incentives with federal stimulus financing for health care organizations to de.
A Framework for Thinking EthicallyThis document is designed as a.docxransayo
A Framework for Thinking Ethically
This document is designed as an introduction to thinking ethically. We all have an image of our better selves-of how we are when we act ethically or are "at our best." We probably also have an image of what an ethical community, an ethical business, an ethical government, or an ethical society should be. Ethics really has to do with all these levels-acting ethically as individuals, creating ethical organizations and governments, and making our society as a whole ethical in the way it treats everyone.What is Ethics?
Simply stated, ethics refers to standards of behavior that tell us how human beings ought to act in the many situations in which they find themselves-as friends, parents, children, citizens, businesspeople, teachers, professionals, and so on.
It is helpful to identify what ethics is NOT:
· Ethics is not the same as feelings. Feelings provide important information for our ethical choices. Some people have highly developed habits that make them feel bad when they do something wrong, but many people feel good even though they are doing something wrong. And often our feelings will tell us it is uncomfortable to do the right thing if it is hard.
· Ethics is not religion. Many people are not religious, but ethics applies to everyone. Most religions do advocate high ethical standards but sometimes do not address all the types of problems we face.
· Ethics is not following the law. A good system of law does incorporate many ethical standards, but law can deviate from what is ethical. Law can become ethically corrupt, as some totalitarian regimes have made it. Law can be a function of power alone and designed to serve the interests of narrow groups. Law may have a difficult time designing or enforcing standards in some important areas, and may be slow to address new problems.
· Ethics is not following culturally accepted norms. Some cultures are quite ethical, but others become corrupt -or blind to certain ethical concerns (as the United States was to slavery before the Civil War). "When in Rome, do as the Romans do" is not a satisfactory ethical standard.
· Ethics is not science. Social and natural science can provide important data to help us make better ethical choices. But science alone does not tell us what we ought to do. Science may provide an explanation for what humans are like. But ethics provides reasons for how humans ought to act. And just because something is scientifically or technologically possible, it may not be ethical to do it.
Why Identifying Ethical Standards is Hard
There are two fundamental problems in identifying the ethical standards we are to follow:
1. On what do we base our ethical standards?
2. How do those standards get applied to specific situations we face?
If our ethics are not based on feelings, religion, law, accepted social practice, or science, what are they based on? Many philosophers and ethicists have helped us answer this critical question. They have suggested .
INTRODUCTION THINKING ETHICALLY A Framework for Moral Decisio.docxnormanibarber20063
INTRODUCTION:
THINKING ETHICALLY A Framework for Moral Decision Making
***This article updates several previous pieces from Issues in Ethics by Manuel Velasquez - Dirksen Professor of Business Ethics at Santa Clara University and former Center director - and Claire Andre, associate Center director. "Thinking Ethically" is based on a framework developed by the authors in collaboration with Center Director Thomas Shanks, S.J., Presidential Professor of Ethics and the Common Good Michael J. Meyer, and others. The framework is used as the basis for many programs and presentations at the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics.
TAKEN FROM: http://www.scu.edu/ethics/practicing/decision/framework.html
Moral issues greet us each morning in the newspaper, confront us in the memos on our desks, nag us from our children's soccer fields, and bid us good night on the evening news. We are bombarded daily with questions about the justice of our foreign policy, the morality of medical technologies that can prolong our lives, the rights of animals or perhaps the fairness of our children's teachers dealing with diverse students in their classrooms.
Dealing with these moral issues is often perplexing. How, exactly, should we think through an ethical issue? What questions should we ask? What factors should we consider?
WHAT IS ETHICS?
Simply stated, ethics refers to standards of behavior that tell us how human beings ought to act in the many situations in which they find themselves-as friends, parents, children, citizens, businesspeople, teachers, professionals, and so on.
According to The National Institute of Health: “Ethics seeks to determine what a person should do, or the best course of action, and provides reasons why. It also helps people decide how to behave and treat one another, and what kinds of communities would be good to live in.”
“Bioethics is a subfield of ethics that explores ethical questions related to the life sciences. Bioethical analysis helps people make decisions about their behavior and about policy questions that governments, organizations, and communities must face when they consider how best to use new biomedical knowledge and innovation”.
WHAT ETHICS IS NOT:
• Ethics is not the same as feelings. Feelings provide important information for our ethical choices. Some people have highly developed habits that make them feel bad when they do something wrong, but many people feel good even though they are doing something wrong. And often our feelings will tell us it is uncomfortable to do the right thing if it is hard.
Ethics is not religion. Many people are not religious, but ethics applies to everyone. Most religions do advocate high ethical standards but sometimes do not address all the types of problems we face.
• Ethics is not following the law. A good system of law does incorporate many ethical standards, but law can deviate from what is ethical. Law can become ethically corrupt, as some totalitarian regimes have made it..
1) You must clearly label the answer to each question.2) If you .docxjeremylockett77
1) You must clearly label the answer to each question.
2) If you are unable to draw diagrams in Microsoft Word, you may use scanned copies of hand drawn diagrams.
3) Word count: The suggested word limit for each sub-question is 200-250 words. (1200 to 1500 words altogether)
4) You must clearly acknowledge all sources using Harvard referencing system including the textbook.
Question 1 (a) Explain, with the aid of diagrams, how an outbreak of hostilities in the Middle East might be expected to impact the Australian markets for petrol and passenger cars with large engines that run on petrol. (6 marks)
(b) The latest electric car is expected to be released in Australia shortly at a very affordable price. What impact might this have on the market for cars which run on petrol? Justify your answer. (4 marks)
Question 2 (a) Australian government is encouraging young people to attend universities with a view to increase the proportion of educated youth workforce. While this policy certainly reduces the number of people available for work today it will increase their skills when they eventually complete their university degrees and enter the workforce. Use the production frontier model and graph to show the effects of such a policy on Australian output. (6 marks)
(b) What are the long-term determinants of economic growth and how can government influence economic growth. (4 marks)
Question 3 (a) Suppose the government is thinking of imposing a sales tax on all brands of cigarettes. What will be the likely impact of this tax on the price of cigarettes and who will bear the major burden of the tax? How will your answer change if the tax was imposed on the consumption of coffee instead? Explain with the help of appropriate diagrams. (6 marks)
(b) Coles and Woolworths dominate the Australian supermarket/grocery sector. Which type of market structure does this sector resemble? Provide a brief explanation. Based on the concepts learnt in this unit explain the likely reasons for the prevalence of this market structure in the Australian supermarket sector. (4 marks)
INTRODUCTION:
THINKING ETHICALLY A Framework for Moral Decision Making
***This article updates several previous pieces from Issues in Ethics by Manuel Velasquez - Dirksen Professor of Business Ethics at Santa Clara University and former Center director - and Claire Andre, associate Center director. "Thinking Ethically" is based on a framework developed by the authors in collaboration with Center Director Thomas Shanks, S.J., Presidential Professor of Ethics and the Common Good Michael J. Meyer, and others. The framework is used as the basis for many programs and presentations at the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics.
TAKEN FROM: http://www.scu.edu/ethics/practicing/decision/framework.html
Moral issues greet us each morning in the newspaper, confront us in the memos on our desks, nag us from our children's soccer fields, and bid us good night on the evening news. We are bombarded da ...
Weeks 5 & 6 – YOU as a stakeholderI Morals & Ethical Pri.docxphilipnelson29183
Weeks 5 & 6 – YOU as a stakeholder
I Morals & Ethical Principles
II Ethical Decision Making in Business
(Why good people do bad things)
Greg Smith
Choice of
Ethical
Perspective
Morality:
The social rules that govern & limit our conduct, especially the ultimate rules concerning right and wrong.
The basic guidelines for cooperative social existence.
Serves to restrain the purely self-interested desires in each of us in order to make it possible for all of us to live together.
When we make a decision or take an action we can be:
Moral - in compliance with moral standards
key operating questions of management is "is this action or decision fair to us and all stakeholders involved?"
Immoral - in opposition to moral standards
key operating question of management is "can we make money with this action or decision regardless of what it takes?"
Amoral - without consideration of moral standards
key operating question of management is "can we make money with this action or decision?"
Nonmoral - outside the sphere of moral concern
Moral standards get confused with:
Law Etiquette
Conscience
Corporate/Professional Codes
Religion
Moral Relativism:
The belief that morality is just a function of what a particular society happens to believe, that what is right is determined by what a society says is right.
abortion is condemned as immoral in Catholic Spain, but is practiced as a morally neutral form of birth control in Japan
Moral relativists believe that there is no absolute moral standard independent of culture, no universal definition of right or wrong.
polygamy, stealing, slavery have all been tolerated by the moral system of one society or another
Moral Universalism is the belief that variations in moral standards reflect different factual circumstances rather than fundamental differences in values.
Which is right?
It is good to emphasize that in viewing other cultures we should keep
an open mind and not simply dismiss their social practices.
Compromise position is Moral Perspectivalism,
the consideration of multiple perspectives while at the same time asserting universal truths.
Kohlberg’s Levels of Moral Development
*
1. Preconventional Level:
- how we behave as infants & children
- emphasis in decisions is on ourselves
Stage 1 - Reaction to punishment - pain avoidance
Stage 2 - Seeking of rewards - praise, candy, trip to a movie
2. Conventional Level:
- child learns the importance of conforming to norms of society
Stage 3 - Good boy/nice girl morality - rewards such as feelings of warmth, loyalty acceptance from family & peers
Stage 4 - Law and order morality - certain norms are expected in society - individual sees himself as part of a larger social system
3. Postconventional Level:
- a more advanced notion of right or wrong than that which is conventionally articulated
- moral principles are internalized, seen as "right"
- focus is on humanity as a whole
- f.
EMPHNET-PHE Course: Module02: ethical principles and theories and the core pr...Dr Ghaiath Hussein
This is a series of presentations I gave in the Eastern Mediterranean Public Health Network (EMPHNET)'s Public Health Ethics (PHE) course that was held in Amman in June 2014.
This presentation outlines the main philosophical approaches to medical ethics and public health ethics.
Application of a decision making framework to an IT-related ethical mallisonshavon
Application of a decision making framework to an IT-related ethical issue.
For this assignment, you are given an opportunity to explore and apply a decision making framework to an IT-related ethical issue. A framework provides a methodical and systematic approach for decision making. Methods of Ethical Analysis describes three structured frameworks that may be used for ethical analysis, namely Reynolds Seven-Step Approach, Kidder’s Nine Steps, and Spinello’s Seven-Step Process. There are several ways to systematically approach an ethical dilemma, and while each of the frameworks described has its merits, each will result in an ethical decision if straightforwardly and honestly applied.
In addition, you will want to consider the ethical theories described in Introduction to Theoretical Ethical Frameworks which help decision makers find the right balance concerning the acceptability of and justification for their actions. A separate write-up of the ethical theory that supports your decision is part of the following requirements.
For this paper, the following elements must be addressed:
• Describe a current IT-related ethical issue: Since this is a paper exercise, not a real-time situation, you may want to construct a brief scenario where this issue comes into play, and thus causes an ethical dilemma. The dilemma may affect you, your family, your job, or your company; or it may be a matter of public policy or law that affects the general populace. See the list below for a list of suggested issues, which may be a source of ethical dilemmas.
• Define a concise problem statement that is extracted from the above description or scenario. It is best if you define a specific problem caused by the dilemma, that needs a specific ethical decision to be made, that will solve the dilemma. Be aware that if it is a matter of public policy or law, that it may require a regulatory body or congressional approval to take action to implement a solution.
• Analyze your problem using one of the structured decision-making frameworks. Make sure that you identify the decision-making framework utilized. In addition, the steps in the decision-making framework selected must be used as major headings in the Analysis section.
• Consider and state the impact of the decision that you made on an individual, an organization, stakeholders, customers suppliers, and the environment, as applicable!
• State and discuss the applicable ethical theory that supports your decision.
Concerning your paper:
• Prepare a minimum 3- 5 page, double-spaced paper as a Microsoft Word file.
• Provide appropriate American Psychological Association (APA) source citations for all sources you use. In addition to critical thinking and analysis skills, your paper should reflect appropriate grammar and spelling, good organization, and proper business-writing style.
For example, Kidder’s approach has nine steps, which are:
• Recognize that there is a moral issue.
• Determine the actor (whos ...
Paper A Application of a decision making framework to an IT-related.docxdunnramage
Paper A: Application of a decision making framework to an IT-related ethical issue.
For this assignment, you are given an opportunity to explore and apply a decision making framework to an IT-related ethical issue.
A framework provides a methodical and systematic approach for decision making
.
UMUC
Module 2 - Methods of Ethical Analysis (see LEO Content – Readings for week 2)
describes three structured frameworks that may be used for ethical analysis, namely
Reynolds Seven-Step Approach, Kidder’s Nine Steps, and Spinello’s Seven-Step Process
.
There are several ways described in UMUC Module 2 to systematically approach an ethical dilemma
, and while each of the frameworks described has its merits, each will result in an ethical decision if straightforwardly and honestly applied.
In addition, you will want to consider the ethical theories described in
Module 1 – Introduction to Theoretical Ethical Frameworks (see LEO Content – Readings for week 1)
which help decision makers find the right balance concerning the acceptability of and justification for their actions. A separate write-up of the ethical theory that supports your decision is part of the following requirements.
For this paper, the following elements must be addressed:
Describe a current IT-related ethical issue
:
Since this is a paper exercise, not a real-time situation,
you may want to construct a brief scenario
where this issue comes into play, and thus causes an ethical dilemma. The dilemma may affect you, your family, your job, or your company; or it may be a matter of public policy or law that affects the general populace.
See the list below for a list of suggested issues, which may be a source of ethical dilemmas
.
Define a concise problem statement
that is
extracted
from the above description or scenario. It is best
if you define a specific problem caused by the dilemma, that needs a specific ethical decision to be made, that will solve the dilemma
. Be aware that if it is a matter of public policy or law, that it may require a regulatory body or congressional approval to take action to implement a solution.
Analyze your problem
using one of the structured decision-making frameworks chosen from Module 2.
Make sure that you identify the decision-making framework utilized. In addition, the steps in the decision-making framework selected must be used as major headings in the Analysis section.
Consider and state the impact of the decision that you made
on an individual, an organization, stakeholders, customers suppliers, and the environment, as applicable!
State and discuss the applicable ethical theory
from Module 1
that supports your decision.
Concerning your paper:
Prepare a minimum 3- 5 page, double-spaced paper and submit it to the LEO Assignments Module as an attached Microsoft Word file.
Provide appropriate American Psychological Association (APA) source citations for all sources you use
. In addition to critical thinking and analysis skills, you.
Techniques to optimize the pagerank algorithm usually fall in two categories. One is to try reducing the work per iteration, and the other is to try reducing the number of iterations. These goals are often at odds with one another. Skipping computation on vertices which have already converged has the potential to save iteration time. Skipping in-identical vertices, with the same in-links, helps reduce duplicate computations and thus could help reduce iteration time. Road networks often have chains which can be short-circuited before pagerank computation to improve performance. Final ranks of chain nodes can be easily calculated. This could reduce both the iteration time, and the number of iterations. If a graph has no dangling nodes, pagerank of each strongly connected component can be computed in topological order. This could help reduce the iteration time, no. of iterations, and also enable multi-iteration concurrency in pagerank computation. The combination of all of the above methods is the STICD algorithm. [sticd] For dynamic graphs, unchanged components whose ranks are unaffected can be skipped altogether.
Chatty Kathy - UNC Bootcamp Final Project Presentation - Final Version - 5.23...John Andrews
SlideShare Description for "Chatty Kathy - UNC Bootcamp Final Project Presentation"
Title: Chatty Kathy: Enhancing Physical Activity Among Older Adults
Description:
Discover how Chatty Kathy, an innovative project developed at the UNC Bootcamp, aims to tackle the challenge of low physical activity among older adults. Our AI-driven solution uses peer interaction to boost and sustain exercise levels, significantly improving health outcomes. This presentation covers our problem statement, the rationale behind Chatty Kathy, synthetic data and persona creation, model performance metrics, a visual demonstration of the project, and potential future developments. Join us for an insightful Q&A session to explore the potential of this groundbreaking project.
Project Team: Jay Requarth, Jana Avery, John Andrews, Dr. Dick Davis II, Nee Buntoum, Nam Yeongjin & Mat Nicholas
StarCompliance is a leading firm specializing in the recovery of stolen cryptocurrency. Our comprehensive services are designed to assist individuals and organizations in navigating the complex process of fraud reporting, investigation, and fund recovery. We combine cutting-edge technology with expert legal support to provide a robust solution for victims of crypto theft.
Our Services Include:
Reporting to Tracking Authorities:
We immediately notify all relevant centralized exchanges (CEX), decentralized exchanges (DEX), and wallet providers about the stolen cryptocurrency. This ensures that the stolen assets are flagged as scam transactions, making it impossible for the thief to use them.
Assistance with Filing Police Reports:
We guide you through the process of filing a valid police report. Our support team provides detailed instructions on which police department to contact and helps you complete the necessary paperwork within the critical 72-hour window.
Launching the Refund Process:
Our team of experienced lawyers can initiate lawsuits on your behalf and represent you in various jurisdictions around the world. They work diligently to recover your stolen funds and ensure that justice is served.
At StarCompliance, we understand the urgency and stress involved in dealing with cryptocurrency theft. Our dedicated team works quickly and efficiently to provide you with the support and expertise needed to recover your assets. Trust us to be your partner in navigating the complexities of the crypto world and safeguarding your investments.
Show drafts
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Empowering the Data Analytics Ecosystem: A Laser Focus on Value
The data analytics ecosystem thrives when every component functions at its peak, unlocking the true potential of data. Here's a laser focus on key areas for an empowered ecosystem:
1. Democratize Access, Not Data:
Granular Access Controls: Provide users with self-service tools tailored to their specific needs, preventing data overload and misuse.
Data Catalogs: Implement robust data catalogs for easy discovery and understanding of available data sources.
2. Foster Collaboration with Clear Roles:
Data Mesh Architecture: Break down data silos by creating a distributed data ownership model with clear ownership and responsibilities.
Collaborative Workspaces: Utilize interactive platforms where data scientists, analysts, and domain experts can work seamlessly together.
3. Leverage Advanced Analytics Strategically:
AI-powered Automation: Automate repetitive tasks like data cleaning and feature engineering, freeing up data talent for higher-level analysis.
Right-Tool Selection: Strategically choose the most effective advanced analytics techniques (e.g., AI, ML) based on specific business problems.
4. Prioritize Data Quality with Automation:
Automated Data Validation: Implement automated data quality checks to identify and rectify errors at the source, minimizing downstream issues.
Data Lineage Tracking: Track the flow of data throughout the ecosystem, ensuring transparency and facilitating root cause analysis for errors.
5. Cultivate a Data-Driven Mindset:
Metrics-Driven Performance Management: Align KPIs and performance metrics with data-driven insights to ensure actionable decision making.
Data Storytelling Workshops: Equip stakeholders with the skills to translate complex data findings into compelling narratives that drive action.
Benefits of a Precise Ecosystem:
Sharpened Focus: Precise access and clear roles ensure everyone works with the most relevant data, maximizing efficiency.
Actionable Insights: Strategic analytics and automated quality checks lead to more reliable and actionable data insights.
Continuous Improvement: Data-driven performance management fosters a culture of learning and continuous improvement.
Sustainable Growth: Empowered by data, organizations can make informed decisions to drive sustainable growth and innovation.
By focusing on these precise actions, organizations can create an empowered data analytics ecosystem that delivers real value by driving data-driven decisions and maximizing the return on their data investment.
Ch03-Managing the Object-Oriented Information Systems Project a.pdf
Ethics for artificial intelligence, machine learning and automated decision making
1. Ethical Perspectives
on Personal Data, Machine
Learning and Automated
Decision Making
Dr Steven Finlay
steve.finlay@virginmedia.com
2. Objectives
• Discuss some of the ethical issues associated with
personal data, machine learning and automated
decision making.
• Present a general and pragmatic framework for
assessing the risk associated with using new types of
personal data, and new applications of predictive
models.
2
3. 3
Agenda
1. Introduction
2. A bit about ethics
3. Ethics and personal data
4. Ethics, machine learning and automated decision
making. A risk management framework
4. Introduction
• Why consider ethical issues in automated decision making?
– Automated decision making, using personal data and based
on predictive models (e.g. credit scoring and direct marketing
models) is old hat to those of us working in financial services.
– In widespread use since 1960s.
– Lots of existing laws and regulations.
– It’s data driven and unbiased, right?
4
5. Introduction
• Recent explosion in Machine Learning/Predictive Analytics
based systems, which are replacing or supporting human
decision making in many walks of life
• Siegal (2016) lists well over 100 uses for predictive models.
• All automated decision making systems display bias!
– The question is: Is it unfair, unethical or illegal bias?
• E.g. when did you last assess the gender, race, religion or
sexual bias expressed by your credit scoring systems?
• On-going concerns being raised by governments, regulators
and the media over the data that organisations hold, and
the uses to which it is put.
5
6. 6
Agenda
1. Introduction
2. A bit about ethics
3. Ethics and personal data
4. Ethics, machine learning and automated decision
making. A risk management framework
7. 1. Ethics, sometimes known as philosophical ethics, ethical theory,
moral theory, and moral philosophy, is a branch of philosophy that
involves systematizing, defending and recommending concepts of
right and wrong conduct, often addressing disputes of moral
diversity. The term comes from the Greek word ἠθικός ethikos from
ἦθος ethos, which means "custom, habit". The superfield within
philosophy known as axiology includes both ethics and aesthetics
and is unified by each sub-branch's concern with value…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethics
Alternatively
2. It’s about right and wrong.
Ethics is….
Subjective, personal, unique… 7
A bit about ethics. Definitions
8. Common ethical frameworks
8
Consequentialist
“The means justify the ends”
Non-Consequentialist
“It’s more about the journey than where you end up…”
Virtues
“Virtuous modes
of behaviour”
(Aristotle)
(Human) rights
“Right to life, liberty,
property, privacy, etc.”
(Locke and Rawls)
Religious
Teaching
(e.g. the ten
commandments)
Kant’s ethical
theory
Universality: Ethical is something
all rational people would agree with
Golden rule
“Do unto others as you
would have done unto you”
(Do no evil)
Utilitarianism
“Greatest good for the
greatest number”
(Jeremy Bentham and
John Stuart Mills)
Ethics
10. A bit about ethics. Relevance in the real
world…
• If I follow all laws and regulations, then that’s all I need
to worry about right?
• Lots of laws allow unethical
actions to occur:
“It is illegal to give alcohol to a child under 5”
Another example is tax avoidance:
A great example of what we mean when we talk about the
spirit of the law as opposed to the letter of the law
10
Legal
Ethical
11. A bit about ethics. Relevance in the real
world…
• It pays to be ethically minded:
• Organizations adopting ethical policies tend to reap the
benefits.
• Largest ever study of the relationship between ethical
performance and financial performance:
– Losses from reputational damage, resulting from actions
that are perceived to be unethical, are particularly severe.
– “Corporate virtue in the form of social and, to a lesser
extent, environmental responsibility is rewarding in more
ways than one.” (Orlitzky et al. 2003)
11
12. A bit about ethics. Summary
• There are many ethical perspectives. We all have our own
view on the rightness/wrongness of different actions.
• Ethical theory is all very well, but putting it into practice is
difficult. The world is a messy mixed up place.
• The one thing that can be said to apply across all ethical
frameworks:
– An ethical action is one which the perpetrator can defend in
terms of more than self interest. (Finlay 2000).
• Ethics pays. A well thought out, well implemented ethical
corporate policy benefits both organizations and
consumers/individuals in the long run.
12
13. 13
Agenda
1. Introduction
2. A bit about ethics
3. Ethics and personal data
4. Ethics for machine learning and automated decision
making. A risk management framework
14. Ethics, data and Machine learning
Whose data is it anyway?
14
Utilitarian
orientated
perspective
Kantian/Rights
based perspectiveMy data is a
resource to be
harvested and put
to use.
Constraints (laws) to
prevent specific
abuses and misuse of
my data.
My data is a part
of who and what I
am. It’s mine!
My data should be
treated with respect,
just as I expect to be
treated with respect.
I will decide how data
about me is used. You
have no right to use my
data without my
permission.
Better data &
predictions =
better outcomes.
Everyone benefits.
15. Ethics, data and decision making.
Whose data is it anyway?
15
Approach Pros Cons
Utilitarian orientated
perspective
• More/better data means better
decision making.
• More get the very best deals (if
they warrant it).
• Social benefits. More data to
support national / community
initiatives (e.g. medical research
and counterterrorism).
• Best for the economy.
• People less in control of their
own destinies.
• Better predictions does not
always equate to increased in
well-being.
• The have-nots have even less.
• Once the data is out there, it’s
out there for good.
Kantian/Rights based
perspective
• Each individual has control over
their data and the uses to which
it is put.
• Less social exclusion.
• Right to change/withdraw
permission to use data, including
“Right to be forgotten.”
• Poorer decisions for individuals
may result, if data is withheld or
otherwise unavailable.
• Lower economic benefits.
• Society as a whole may suffer
because large scale studies are
data limited. (e.g. medical
research and counter terrorism).
16. Ethics, data and decision making.
Is more data and better prediction always better?
16
• More/better data leads to the promise of near perfect
predictions in some areas. Is this a good thing?
• Sometimes:
– Identify terrorist subjects with high degree of certainty
– Predict that a heart attack is very likely in the next 24 hours
– Long term compatibility on a dating site
– …..
• But not always
– Near perfect insurance claim predictions are no benefit to
anyone (except the insurer)
– Do I want to know, years in advance, when I am likely to die?
– …..
17. Ethics, data and decision making.
Whose data is it anyway?
17
What’s the direction of Travel?
USA, has to date, followed a more utility
based model. Use data for whatever you
want, but we will legislate where needed.
EU has taken a rights based approach, and
looks like it will continue to do so, with the
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
which will come into force in 2018 in EU/UK.
18. 18
Agenda
1. Introduction
2. A bit about ethics
3. Ethics and personal data
4. Ethics and automated decision making. A risk
management framework
19. Ethics, data and decision making.
What data to use when?
• Age
• Alcohol consumption
• Credit history
• Criminal records
• Dependents
• DNA
• Driving speed
• Education
• Gas consumption
• Gender
• Grocery purchases at supermarket
• Income
• Last book purchased
• Live with smoker (Y/N)
• Marital status
• Medical history
• Music currently listening too
• Race
• Religion
• Sexual orientation
• Smoker (Y/N)
• Type of car you drive
19
20. Ethics, data and decision making.
1. Immutability of data?
20
Immutable
(Individual can’t change at all)
Mutable
(Individual can change easily)
Age
Alcohol
consumption
IncomeCriminal record
Gas
consumption
Education
Gender
Grocery
purchases
Last book
purchased
Live with
smoker
Marital status
Medical history
Dependents
Race
Religion
Music currently
Listening too
Sexual
orientation
Smoker
Type of car
Driving speed
DNA
21. Ethics, data and decision making.
2. Beneficiary?
21
Individual / society Decision maker
Treatment
for illness
Selection for tax
inspection
Product
marketing
Benefit
payment
Foreclosure
Match on
dating site
Credit
granting
Child protection
Insurance
pricing
For whose benefit is a decisions made ?
(This is not the same thing as if the individual benefits from the decision)
Suspect selection
in criminal cases
Making
job offers
Redundancy
selection
Home
improvement grants
Parole
Survey selection
22. Ethics, data and decision making:
3. Impact
22
What is the potential impact of decisions on an individual’s well being?
22
Low Impact High Impact
Treatment
for illness
Selection for tax
inspection
Product
marketing
Benefit
payment
ForeclosureMatch on
dating site
Credit
granting
Child protection
Insurance
pricing
Suspect selection
in criminal cases
Making
job offers
Redundancy
selection
Home
improvement grants
Parole
Survey selection
23. Ethics, data and decision making.
Risk in decision making
23
1. Immutability
of data
3. Impact on
individual
2. Beneficiary
of decision
Decision maker
Individual
Immutable
Mutable
Low
High
24. You need to decide what’s most important
within your ethical view (i.e. column order).
Impact of
decision on
individual
Beneficiary
of the
decision
Immutability
of data used
Ethical
challenge
/ risk
High Decision
maker
High Greatest
Least
Low
Individual High
Low
Low Decision
maker
High
Low
Individual High
Low
• More legislation
• Audit & regulatory oversight
• Public interest
• Greater manual involvement
• Simple and explicable models
• Judgemental overriding
• Expert “Buy-in”
• Understand model weaknesses
• Constant monitoring/feedback
• Less legislation
• Predictive ability trumps all else
• Complex “black box” models
• Automated model generation
• Rapid redevelopment of models
• Little oversight
E.G,
foreclosure,
redundancy,
parole
E.G. Marketing
applications,
Music playlists
25. Ethics, data and decision making:
Alternative perspective…
• It’s nothing to do with the data or the decision maker…
• It’s how you make the decision that’s important…
– Impartial, data driven process = GOOD (Ethical)
– Biased/judgemental decision = BAD (Unethical)
25
Example: If women more likely to do X or Y than men (or
vice versa), then it’s fine for Gender to feature in a predictive
model, if that’s what the data is telling us.
However, this view is not popular, at least not in the UK or EU.
As evidenced by (fairly) recent decisions on the use of Gender
in insurance, despite gender being one of the most predictive
data items for all sorts of insurance claim behaviour.
26. In Summary
• Ethical data use and decision making brings its own rewards
• An ethical strategy is about more than just following the law.
– Ethical and legal is where you want to be…
• Some things to consider when formulating an ethical data
and decision making policy:
– The immutability of the data that you use.
– The impact that your decisions will have on individuals.
– The beneficiaries of the decisions you make.
26
27. Bibliography and further reading
• Boatright, J. (2014) Ethics in Finance (3rd Edition). Wiley
• Finlay, P. (2000). An introduction to Business and Corporate Strategy. Pearson
Education.
• Finlay, S. (2014). Predictive Analytics, Data Mining and Big Data. Myths,
Misconceptions and methods. Palgrave Macmillan.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Predictive-Analytics-Data-Mining-
Misconceptions/dp/1137379278/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=14
92778632&sr=8-2
• O’Neil, C. (2016). Weapons of math Destruction. How Big Data Increases Inequality
and Threatens Democracy. Allen Lane.
• Orlitzky, M., Schmidt, F. L., Rynes, S. L. (2003). Corporate Social and Financial
Performance: A Meta-analysis. Organization Studies, volume 24, number 3, pages
403-441.
• Siegel, E. (2016). Predictive Analytics: the Power to Predict Who Will Click, Buy,
Lie, or Die. (2nd Edition). Wiley.
27
Editor's Notes
Hi
My name is Steven Finlay. I’m head of Analytics at a company called Computershare Loan Services (CLS). You have probably never heard of CLS – but it’s Europes largest mortgage outsourcing provider, based in Skipton, Yorkshire. CLS is part of the Computershare Group, which employs over 15,000 people at several sites around the world. We specialize in providing the infrastructure to support residential mortgage portfolios from origination through to debt recovery. We currently manage more than £70 billion assets for our customers. Prior to this role I worked for a number of organizations including UK Government, Jaywing, The Cooperative Bank and Experian. I’m also a visiting (unpaid!) research fellow at the Lancaster University Management School, and it is in that capacity that I am speaking to you today.
By trade I’m a data scientist. For the last 20 years I’ve spent most of my time building or designing decision making systems based around predictive analytics, mostly but not exclusively in financial services. In the early 2000s I began to get interested in some of the ethical aspects what I was doing in relation to automated decision making relating to consumer credit (i.e. credit scoring), but this has expanded to cover a much broader set of applications of automated decision making and it’s impact on individuals.
A lot of what you are going to hear today is aligned some of the material in my latest book: Predictive analytics, Data Mining and Big data. Myths, misconceptions and Methods, Which is published by Palgrave Macmillan.
So although many of you are primarily concerned with “credit scoring” and other types of model for credit risk assessment, this is a much broader topic that I’m talking about today that applies to any type of decision making system used to assess individuals. Also not region specific.
Following a brief introduction I’m going to start with a bit about ethical theory. Given we only have an hour or so, I’m not going to be going into much detail, but I think this is important because in my experience, ethical considerations are not always at the forefront of the minds of data scientists. I’m not saying that data scientists are not any more or less ethically minded than anyone else, but often they get caught up in the technical/business problems that they are trying to address – no different from many other disciplines.
It’s not often, in my experience, that they (or their managers) really question the ethical nature of what they are doing because they are too focused on the immediate tasks at hand. The world could perhaps do with a few more Edward Snowdens!
I’ll then go on to talk a bit about the application of ethics to personal data and automated decision making, driven by predictive analytics/machine learning.
We have lots of existing legislation, such as equality laws, consumer credit act, Data Protection etc.
Also because, it’s data driven and based on mathematical principles, credit scoring and other types of prediction models are unbiased? So no need to worry about them?
This is an important area, given that we are now seeing a whole raft of “AI / Machine learning” applications being developed and deployed across society based on predictive models, which are being used to make automated decisions about people and how to treat them.
So while the material I’m going to talk about today started out as a discussion around credit scoring, it’s much broader than that and is generally applicable to almost any area of society, where automated decision making tools are now being deployed.
Who to hire or fire
Which prisoners to grant parole to.
Dating sites
Identification of terrorist suspects.
Disease identification
We have lots of existing legislation, such as equality laws, consumer credit act, Data Protection etc.
Who to hire or fire
Which prisoners to grant parole to.
Identification of terrorist suspects.
Disease identification
Ethics is not a precise topic. It’s not well defined and quantitative. For people used to thinking and working in a “Data Driven” analytical way; i.e. people who live and breath Data and Analytics, then Ethical theory is not something that fits well with their natural way of thinking.
Ethical behaviour is often used as something of a catch all, but people often get confused as to its meaning. Ethics is not about feelings, nor is it something confined to (religious) belief systems or the rule of law. It’s something much broader that affects each one of us every day in our relationships with others and how we behave as a society.
This is a definition of ethics I found on Wikipedia – and like other areas of philosophy it’s easy to get tied up in the language. However, put more simply ethics is about the appropriateness of how we behave and what we do.
Its about right and wrong. If you do the right thing you are being ethical, if you do the wrong thing you are not behaving ethically.
Ethics is also something that is subjective and personal. No two individuals will share exactly the same ethical perspective and can different culturally. So in the UK the idea of offering a payment of some sort to get a government department to do something would be seen as unethical by most people (and be illegal). Yet in other countries it’s the norm for what we would call a bribe to be offered, and in some situations things won’t get done unless a suitable payment is made.
Therefore I’m not going to preach to you today about what is right (ethical) and what is not (unethical).
What I am going to do is talk about some of the different ethical perspectives that can be adopted, and some of the arguments over data and how it is applied within the context of automated decisions making.
I’ll then talk to you about my view of ethical data usage and decision making using that data. You may agree with my view, you may not. My objective is put forward a particular ethics, or for you to agree with my ethical perspective. However, if I have encouraged you to think about ethical issues around data and decision making, then I’ll be more than happy.
As I say, no two people have exactly the same perspective as to what’s right and wrong, but there are a number of ethical frameworks into which people’s perspectives on ethics can be placed.
This diagram summarizes some of the common ethical frameworks that people adopt. This is by no means comprehensive, but a very common differentiator between how people view the rightness or wrongness of actions is whether they approach a particular issue from a consequentialist or non-consequentialist perspective.
A consequentialist approaches things in terms of outcomes. The means justifies the ends. There is no such thing as a wrong action, only a wrong outcome.
A non-consequentialist is more about principles and the way that things are done. It’s more about the journey and how you get there. So a classical example of the difference between a consequentialist and non-consequentialist approach is the use of nuclear weapons at the end of the second world war.
The consequentialist view is very clear. The use of nuclear weapons was a quick way to bring the war to a conclusion, saving many American and Japanese lives that would otherwise have been lost in a long and drawn out land invasion of Japan.
The non-consequentialist perspective is that the inhumane nature of the weapons and their long term impact on civilians and the environment was unjustified, even if it meant more lives being lost in the short term.
There are several types of consequentialist, but probably the most popular consequentialist ethical theory is Utilitarianism. An ethical action is a good one if the overall net benefit; i.e. wellbeing and happiness of a society is improved. Measuring happiness and “well being” is difficult and for a classical utilitarian, benefit is measured in terms of maximizing utility in terms of monetary outcomes and cost/benefit – it’s all very black and white. Another example is consequentialism is Hedonism – maximising pleasure.
If we now turn to the right hand side of the diagram, then things are very different. One view of ethics comes from religious teaching. God is a better judge of right and wrong than people and the right way to do things is specified in scripture. E.g. the ten commandments “do not kill”, “do not steal” and so on.
Immanuel Kant’s was a famous German philosopher who lived in the eighteen century, and formed an ethical theory based on the principle of duty and respect for others. Kant argued that an action is only ethical if it shows respect for others. In other words, one should act in good faith, out of a sense of duty as to what is right and proper, which Kant termed the categorical imperative.
Ethical is something all rational people would agree with. So a great example is the ethical way to divide up a chocolate cake amongst a lot of people. The only rational thing that everyone would agree with is to split the cake equally.
Kant's also expressed his view on ethics in terms of the Golden rule, which had previously been expressed by Confucius, the Chinese's philosopher many centuries before “Do unto others as you would have done unto you.”
The golden rule is however, not very useful in practice, because it implies that you should do things like giving all your money to complete strangers, because that is what you would want them to do. Consequently, it’s the inverse of the golden rule that is often most insightful; i.e. “Do no evil” which for a long time was Google’s unofficial company motto (dropped in 2015).
Aristotle was also interested in Ethics – writing a whole book on the subject more than 2,300 years ago. He believed that people should operate in certain ways such as being a good parent or employee. Over the next two millennia these ideas evolved into what we today would describe as peoples’ basic (human) rights – the right to life, liberty and property as captured in the French Declaration of the rights of man and the US constitution.
Human rights and Kant’s ethical theory often go hand in hand. A worker has a right to decent wages, and an employer has a duty to pay decent wages.
A worker
Ethical theory is all very well, but all ethical frameworks have their weaknesses.
Utilitarian arguments have been used to excuse some of the worst atrocities in history.
Communism and Utilitarianism are not the same thing, but Stalin justified his slaughter of millions as a means to achieve a communist utopia in which everyone would live idea lives. Achieving the ends by any means necessary. One can argue a similar line for the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia
I tried to find some pictures of a soviet utopia, but for some reason not many seem to exist…. So I did the next best thing and found a picture of the now grade II listed Preston Bus Station as a substitute for cold war soviet architecture. Example of French “Brutalist” (raw).
Anyway, back to the subject at hand, likewise religion has been used as an excuse for many wars and acts of terrorism throughout history.
To follow a Kantian/rights based philosophy can be problematic, leading to some preventable disaster because certain actions where not taken. This is the justification often used by governments for ignoring an individual’s human rights. For example, the indefinite holding of “suspected terrorists” at Guantanamo bay, and more recently the mass surveillance programs of the US government is justified on the basis of the “Greater good”.
That’s all very well, but is all this ethical theory any use to me?
If we lived in an ideal world where the law is the embodiment of ethical behaviour then a “just follow the law” attitude to ethics would be an easy case to argue.
However what you find in practice is that laws while often conceived with ethical behaviour in mind, are often compromises or become dated. The result is that while there is often a degree of overlap between what’s legal and what’s ethical, something is not necessarily ethical just because it’s legal. Look it up in a theorsus if you want!
So to give you some examples.
In the UK it’s legal to give alcohol to a five year old. So if your child’s infant school decided to set up tasting sessions for five year olds, that would be within the law, but I don’t think that many parents would agree with it.
Another case is Tax avoidance. So recently there was a lot of press over Starbucks (and many others) paying no UK tax by shuffling their profits overseas.
Starbucks and others were not acting illegally, but much of the public feeling was that this was unethical. Yet for an accountant working within the firm, their duty to their employer was to legally minimize tax. If an accountant had said “You could have paid $100m less tax, but I thought that would have deprived the country of a couple of hospitals” then that’s not very ethical in that context, plus the accountant would have been fired.
Even if it’s not a legal requirement, it pays to be ethically minded in business.
The largest ever meta-study of the relationship between ethical performance (corporate social responsibility) and financial performance shows a clear and immediate link between ethical behaviours and financial outcomes.
You may be following the law, but if people don’t like what you do, then you will suffer for it.
In practice we all adopt different bits of these different ethical theories, and apply them in different ways to different problems and scenarios.
For me I think that the utilitarian approach is probably a good one for deciding resource allocation for many infrastructure projects, but I feel that it’s a lot more about rights and personal dignity when talking about how best to allocate resources within the NHS.
Regardless of your personal ethics, one thing that I think can be said to apply across all ethical frameworks, is that to act ethically, one must at the very least consider the impact of one’s actions on others.
If you only justify what you do in terms of making a buck, or some other self-serving interest, then the morality of that act is questionable.
What always comes up in debate about data, before anyone begins to think about how data is used, is the privacy and ownership of that data. The press is full of it.
If you approach things from a utilitarian perspective, then you can view data as a resource that’s out there to be harvested and put to use.
The default position is that data is put to good productive use. If however, there is a problem then we’ll legislate to control it.
More data is good because it means better information, better predictions about behaviour and hence better decision making. I get a much better deal on my car insurance and mortgage interest rate because the information you have about me tells you that I’m low risk. If that information was not available I would pay more, and I’d be subsidising those who display high risk behaviours.
With a rights based perspective, the outcomes are far less important. It’s my data and you should respect it. You have no right to it. If I withdraw my right for you to use it, then tough!
So the “open data,” utilitarian view, gives one the optimum outcomes in terms of predictive accuracy and decision making and the economy.
However, what you tend to see is a polarisation. Those with “Good” data get a great deal, which is probably most of us, but the rest get a very poor deal or no deal at all. And from a utilitarian perspective, that’s how it should be.
The rights based view on the other hand, puts more control in the hands of individuals, and arguably leads to less social exclusion and the research evidence is that a more balanced society is a happier society. However certain things are not as optimal as they could be and there are economic impacts.
For example there are no doubt many great benefits from wider access to medical records, but we’ve had the issue of NHS data being released for medical studies, but so poorly handled….
The “right to be forgotten” case in the EU, which is being incorporated into the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), supports a rights based view, but profit making organizations initially expressed their “amazement” and “fury” about that decision. In particularly US companies such as
Is more data/ better decision making always good?
So this somewhat counters the “gather and use it all” perspective
http://deathclock.com/
So what you tend to see in the US is that existing laws are brought to bear e.g. right to privacy under US constitution OR very specific laws are enacted.
For example, Fair Credit Reporting Act (1970) and Health Insurance portability and Accountability act 1996. HIPAA (1996).
The Driver's Privacy Protection Act of 1994 (also referred to as the "DPPA"), Title XXX of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act, is a United States federal statute governing the privacy and disclosure of personal information gathered by state Departments of Motor Vehicles.
This has and does cause problems when US based organizations have tried to apply American thinking in EU member states – Google, Amazon and Facebook have all suffered reputational damage through their arguably over-zealous drive to gather data about people.
It also means that if a UK based company wants to compete in the US, then it needs to think if it needs to change its attitude to personal data within that market – or otherwise face being at a disadvantage.
The new EU legislation means that Non-European companies will have to stick to European data protection law if they operate on the European market. New EU laws are also introducing concepts such as “The right to be forgotten.” which organizations will need to decide how they are going to implement.
What I’m now going to do is talk about a personal perspective, that I try and adopt when I’m dealing with data and decision making using predictive analytics, based on that data. This is something that I have thought about a lot over the years when working on various projects for a variety of public and private sector organizations.
After thinking about the ethical angle, I then blend this with relevant legislation to come up with what I believe is ethical and satisfies relevant laws and regulations.
So this is very much about my model of data, decision making and what’s ethical.
So as I said at the beginning, you may agree with me, you may not, but I’ll be happy as long as it gives you something to take away and think about.
So if I had some data items such as this, what would I do? How do I classify the data – what sort of lens would I apply when considering it?
One of the first things I think about is the immutability of the data at my disposal. How changeable is it?
Is it something that the individual was born with and/or can’t change, or something that is very much down to life choices?
Things like your DNA and ethnic origin are not things you can change at all. At the other end of the scale things like what books and CDs you buy are very much within your control. However its not all black and white. Immutability is more of a spectrum. There are lots of things that in theory an individual could change or do differently, but there are various huddles and difficulties to overcome.
I can marry, divorce, marry again as often as I like, but there are social, financial and legal barriers that make it difficult to do this very often. Likewise I don’t have to live with a smoker, but it’s a lot of effort to change that.
The second thing I think about is who is going to benefit from the decisions that are made, based upon the data I hold about them?.
I look at this from the perspective of the decision maker (i.e. the user of the predictive model upon which the data is based) and the individual (about whom decisions are being made)
This perspective varies greatly if you are working in public or private sector, and in what capacity decisions are being made.
The third angle I consider is the impact of the decision, and the magnitude of that decision individuals and how that will affect their well-being
If we these three things together, then we end up with a three dimensional view of decision making
An this is what I use when thinking about the ethical dimensions to decision making and the risks associated with those decisions
I’ve prioritised these three dimensions of data and decision making as shown here – you may have a different view
The book within which this table appears actually puts the beneficiary first, but when I had a rethink when putting this presentation together.
For example, if the impact of the decision is high and the decision is for someone other than the individual, and that decision is based on highly immutable data – then that is an ethically challenging decision to make. I’m not saying you can’t use highly immutable data in such circumstances, but you need to think very carefully about how defensible your position is.
At the other end of the spectrum, if all I’m doing is target people who might be interested in using public facilities such as libraries and parks – then there is much less challenge to that sort of decision.
Example, and you’ll find that sort of thing in some types of model.
However, it’s not a popular view.
This is of course, over and above any legal requirements.