This document outlines an agenda for a workshop on privacy and risk mitigation for emerging technologies. The workshop aims to counter an optimism bias by imagining how technologies could be misused or have unintended consequences. Participants will break into groups to generate hypothetical future scenarios where risks have occurred, then propose potential solutions to mitigate the risks identified in each story. The goal is to have a realistic discussion of risks in order to increase user protection, anticipate problems, and improve product design.

1. PRIVACY AND RISK
MITIGATION WORKSHOP
J ESSICA OUTLAW
@T HEEXTENDEDMIND
1 1 . 0 8 . 2 0 1 6

2. I T ’ S U N C L E A R H O W T E C H N O L O G Y W I L L B E U S E D I N T H E F U T U R E
I D E N T I F Y P O T E N T I A L S O C I A L I M P A C T S & U N I N T E N D E D U S E S
O V E R V I E W
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3. B I A S T O W A R D S O P T I M I S M
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Photo by Manu Schwendener on Unsplash

4. M A K I N G T H E E F F O R T T O I M A G I N E A D V E R S E O U T C O M E S L E A D S T O
M O R E R E A L I S T I C A S S E S S M E N T O F R I S K
I N C R E A S E D A B I L I T Y T O A N T I C I P A T E P R O B L E M S
A W A R E N E S S O F B L I N D S P O T S
I N C R E A S E D U S E R P R O T E C T I O N
I M P R O V E D P R O D U C T D E S I G N
C O U N T E R I N G A B I A S T O W A R D S O P T I M I S M
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5. GROUP DISCUSSION

6. G E N E R A T E A S T O R Y I N Y O U R S M A L L G R O U P
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CONSTRUCT A FUTURE WHERE RISKS HAVE OCCURRED
Users Do Not Control Data Surveillance
Data collected and sold without
consent* Data follows users through their
lifetime, affects
reputation, freedom or opportunity
Sensitive insights about users are
extracted from data
Bad actors leak/steal data The government uses data to infringe
on the rights of citizens
Companies with data are sold or shut
down
People near a XR device wearer are
not aware they are being monitored
*Prompts modified from The Ethical OS Toolkit available at www.ethicalos.org

7. G E N E R A T E A S T O R Y I N Y O U R S M A L L G R O U P
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CONSTRUCT A FUTURE WHERE RISKS HAVE OCCURRED
1-2 MINUTE STORY OF A WORST-CASE SCENARIO
PICK A PROTAGONIST (PERSON, COMPANY, NATION, ETC.)
WHICH RISKS HAPPENED?
WHAT WERE THE CONSEQUENCES?

8. GROUP REPORTS

9. RISK MITIGATION
STRATEGIES

10. P R O P O S E P O T E N T I A L S O L U T I O N S F O R E A C H G R O U P ’ S S T O R Y
E X A M P L E S
T R A N S P A R E N T T E R M S O F S E R V I C E
A W A R D S
I N D U S T R Y E T H I C S
I N D E P E N D E N T W A T C H D O G
R E G U L A T I O N S / P O L I C Y
R I S K M I T I G A T I O N S T R A T E G I E S
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11. GROUP REPORTS

12. W H I C H I D E N T I F I E D R I S K S A R E A P R I O R I T Y ?
W H A T S T R A T E G I E S C A N H E L P M I T I G A T E T H E S E R I S K S ?
W H E R E A N D H O W T O S T A R T ?
R E C A P
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13. T H A N K Y O U