Ethics before data ethics

1. Ethics before data ethics

Welcome to the course on data ethics! We will explore all the essentials of data ethics along the way. Before data ethics, we need to know what ethics is and why it is essential for you and those around you!

2. What is ethics?

Ethics is derived from the Greek word ethos, which translates to a way to live one's life. Ethics is a branch of moral philosophy that studies the standards, values, morals,and principles for correct and wrong or fair and unfair behavior. We all have an inherent sense of right and wrong, beyond just the obligation of complying with laws. Like respecting others or offering your seat in the metro to an older passenger. Our choices are driven by this sense of right and wrong. While buying food, you might consider animal welfare or farmer solidarity, or you choose your employer based on their mission and values, and you may vote for a politician because of shared morals. Now let's see why studying ethics is important for everyone!

3. Why study ethics

Not all decision-making is black and white. Many situations have conflicting values that create a dilemma in making the right decision. For instance, your best friend at work violates a vital company policy. Do you value your friendship more and ignore it, or do you uphold professional integrity and report them?

4. Innovation vs. affordable medicine

What about this one: Pharma companies invest in innovation to find cures and expect a return on investment. However, this conflicts with the suffering of people who cannot afford them. What's the right thing, and who should do it? All our actions have consequences for ourselves and those around us. Aspects that benefit individual or single companies can damage and weaken entire economies and the future of our planet.

5. Ethics everywhere

To tackle these issues, ethics are continuously embedded in our laws, our discussions on human rights, dignity, and the progress of our society and civilization. In today's age of accelerated technological progress, dealing with the unknown impacts of such powerful technologies is challenging, further highlighting the importance of ethics.

6. Ethics of technology and innovation

There are many ethical discussions and debates on the benefits and risks of new technologies that will influence our lives and may affect the future of the human species. These discussions are about the responsible use, control and oversight of such paradigm shifting technologies like stem cell use, and drone warfare. Most of the advanced technologies that affect our everyday life are most likely data-driven. Let's find out more!

7. The data economy- is data the new oil?

Data is not only a pervasive phenomenon but has become one of the most valuable commodities of the 21st century, just like oil was in the 20th century. In the 21st century, data-driven technology companies like Google and Meta rank among the most valuable companies in the world. This is mainly due to the massive availability of data and access to computing power. 90% of data in the world was created in the past five years. The potential for innovative products and technologies that use these huge datasets seems never-ending.

8. Data drives (almost) every innovation and application

In the 21st century, data drives most innovation and research. Social media apps, smart homes, cloud services, analytics, and AI applications are all data-driven, and new applications are rising. Data is essential for economic growth, competitiveness, innovation, job creation, and societal progress. Given the incredible power of data, understanding its implications on individuals, business processes, and society is critical. This need gave rise to a new branch of ethics known as data ethics.

9. Data ethics

While ethics govern broader human behavior and applies to wide-ranging contexts, data ethics address moral challenges related to data-driven applications. Both share moral values, but data ethics apply these values to data activities such as processing, sharing, storage, and use. Data ethics mainly focus on data privacy and data protection, informed consent, individual rights and agency, transparency and trust, fairness, non-discrimination and accountability and oversight in data-related activities as well as the beneficial use of data.

10. Let's practice!

Awesome! Let's test your knowledge.

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