Normative Foundations for International Data Governance: Goals and Principles

Curated on Posted on by Stefaan Verhulst

Proposed Foundations by the United Nations System Chief Executives Board for Coordination: “…suggests a set of common goals and principles that could form the normative basis for international data governance. The document does not present universally agreed goals and principles but seeks to provide an input to ongoing and future deliberations on the topic, including within the context of follow-up to the Global Digital Compact and other intergovernmental processes. Prepared by the HLCP Working Group on international data governance, the document seeks to complement existing standards and principles and builds on the Group’s previous paper “International Data Governance: Pathways to Progress”,  which outlined a vision and steps towards the promotion of data governance grounded in human rights and sustainable development through a multistakeholder consultative approach.

Central to the document are three overarching goals: value, trust, and equity. Value highlights the necessity for an enabling environment that fosters responsible data use and reuse, alongside the critical importance of interoperability to facilitate effective data sharing. Trust is cultivated through a human rights-based approach, prioritizing data protection and privacy, while ensuring accountability and high standards of data quality throughout the lifecycle. Equity is promoted by empowering individuals and communities exercise control over their personal data and ensuring that the benefits of data access are distributed fairly, particularly to vulnerable and marginalized groups…(More)”.

Once Upon a Crime: Towards Crime Prediction from Demographics and Mobile Data

Curated on Posted on by Stefaan Verhulst

Paper by Andrey Bogomolov, Bruno Lepri, Jacopo Staiano, Nuria Oliver, Fabio Pianesi, and Alex Pentland: “In this paper, we present a novel approach to predict crime in a geographic space from multiple data sources, in particular mobile phone and demographic data. The main contribution of the proposed approach lies in using aggregated and anonymized human behavioral data derived from mobile network activity to tackle the crime prediction problem. While previous research efforts have used either background historical knowledge or offenders’ profiling, our findings support the hypothesis that aggregated human behavioral data captured from the mobile network infrastructure, in combination with basic demographic information, can be used to predict crime. In our experimental results with real crime data from London we obtain an accuracy of almost 70% when predicting whether a specific area in the city will be a crime hotspot or not. Moreover, we provide a discussion of the implications of our findings for data-driven crime analysis…(More)”.

Towards effective governance of justice data

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OECD working paper: “…explores the role of data governance in advancing people-centred justice systems. It outlines the objectives, values, and practices necessary to harness data effectively, drawing on OECD policy instruments. The paper provides actionable insights for policymakers aiming to implement data-driven justice reforms. It also addresses the challenges and opportunities presented by digital transformation in the justice sector, advocating for a strategic approach that balances innovation with the protection of fundamental rights. It incorporates lessons from data governance activities and experiences in justice and other relevant sectors. This paper is essential reading for those involved in modernisation of justice and data governance…(More)”.

Federated Data Infrastructures for Scientific Use

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Policy paper by the German Council for Scientific Information Infrastructures: “…provides an overview and a comparative in-depth analysis of the emerging research (and research related) data infrastructures NFDI, EOSC, Gaia-X and the European Data Spaces. In addition, the Council makes recommendations for their future development and coordination. The RfII notes that access to genuine high-quality research data and related core services is a matter of basic public supply and strongly advises to achieve coherence between the various initiatives and approaches…(More)”.

Information Technology for Peace and Security

Curated on Posted on by Stefaan Verhulst

Book edited by Christian Reuter: “Technological and scientific progress, especially the rapid development in information technology (IT) and artificial intelligence (AI), plays a crucial role regarding questions of peace and security. This textbook, extended and updated in its second edition, addresses the significance, potential of IT, as well as the challenges it poses, with regard to peace and security.

It introduces the reader to the concepts of peace, conflict, and security research, especially focusing on natural, technical and computer science perspectives. In the following sections, it sheds light on cyber conflicts, war and peace, cyber arms control, cyber attribution, infrastructures, artificial intelligence, as well ICT in peace and conflict…(More)”.

Lottocracy: Democracy Without Elections

Curated on Posted on by Stefaan Verhulst

Book by Alexander Guerrero: “Democracy is in trouble. The system isn’t working. Inequality increases, many can barely get by, the elite control our political institutions. The earth, our only home, gets warmer year by year. We are deeply divided, unable to work together to address the problems we face. What if elections are the problem?

Lottocracy makes the case that electoral representative democracy—although the best form of government that has been tried—runs into deep problems in the modern world.

But it is not a message of despair. To the contrary. Lottocracy sets out a detailed vision of a new kind of democracy, as system that uses lotteries, rather than elections, to select our political representatives.

Perhaps we can use this wild ancient idea to build a new, better democracy for the 21st century and beyond…(More)”.

Critical Datafication Literacy

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Book by Ina Sander: “Despite the increasing influence of data technologies on our world, many people still lack a profound understanding of what this ›datafication‹ means for their lives and our societies. Ina Sander argues that this knowledge gap cannot be addressed by digital skills alone, but that more critical and empowering approaches are needed. Through a review of existing literacies, an analysis of established education concepts, and empirical research on online educational resources about datafication, she develops a framework for »critical datafication literacy«. Novel insights on the design strategies, pedagogical methods and challenges of practitioners who foster such education add to her analysis…(More)”.

Inside the New Nonprofit AI Initiatives Seeking to Aid Teachers and Farmers in Rural Africa

Curated on Posted on by Stefaan Verhulst

Article by Andrew R. Chow: “Over the past year, rural farmers in Malawi have been seeking advice about their crops and animals from a generative AI chatbot. These farmers ask questions in Chichewa, their native tongue, and the app, Ulangizi, responds in kind, using conversational language based on information taken from the government’s agricultural manual. “In the past we could wait for days for agriculture extension workers to come and address whatever problems we had on our farms,” Maron Galeta, a Malawian farmer, told Bloomberg. “Just a touch of a button we have all the information we need.”

The nonprofit behind the app, Opportunity International, hopes to bring similar AI-based solutions to other impoverished communities. In February, Opportunity ran an acceleration incubator for humanitarian workers across the world to pitch AI-based ideas and then develop them alongside mentors from institutions like Microsoft and Amazon. On October 30, Opportunity announced the three winners of this program: free-to-use apps that aim to help African farmers with crop and climate strategy, teachers with lesson planning, and school leaders with administration management. The winners will each receive about $150,000 in funding to pilot the apps in their communities, with the goal of reaching millions of people within two years. 

Greg Nelson, the CTO of Opportunity, hopes that the program will show the power of AI to level playing fields for those who previously faced barriers to accessing knowledge and expertise. “Since the mobile phone, this is the biggest democratizing change that we have seen in our lifetime,” he says…(More)”.

The Routledge Handbook of Artificial Intelligence and Philanthropy

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Open Access Book edited by Giuseppe Ugazio and Milos Maricic: “…acts as a catalyst for the dialogue between two ecosystems with much to gain from collaboration: artificial intelligence (AI) and philanthropy. Bringing together leading academics, AI specialists, and philanthropy professionals, it offers a robust academic foundation for studying both how AI can be used and implemented within philanthropy and how philanthropy can guide the future development of AI in a responsible way.

The contributors to this Handbook explore various facets of the AI‑philanthropy dynamic, critically assess hurdles to increased AI adoption and integration in philanthropy, map the application of AI within the philanthropic sector, evaluate how philanthropy can and should promote an AI that is ethical, inclusive, and responsible, and identify the landscape of risk strategies for their limitations and/or potential mitigation. These theoretical perspectives are complemented by several case studies that offer a pragmatic perspective on diverse, successful, and effective AI‑philanthropy synergies.

As a result, this Handbook stands as a valuable academic reference capable of enriching the interactions of AI and philanthropy, uniting the perspectives of scholars and practitioners, thus building bridges between research and implementation, and setting the foundations for future research endeavors on this topic…(More)”.

Unlocking Green Deal Data: Innovative Approaches for Data Governance and Sharing in Europe

Curated on Posted on by Stefaan Verhulst

JRC Report: “Drawing upon the ambitious policy and legal framework outlined in the Europe Strategy for Data (2020) and the establishment of common European data spaces, this Science for Policy report explores innovative approaches for unlocking relevant data to achieve the objectives of the European Green Deal.

The report focuses on the governance and sharing of Green Deal data, analysing a variety of topics related to the implementation of new regulatory instruments, namely the Data Governance Act and the Data Act, as well as the roles of various actors in the data ecosystem. It provides an overview of the current incentives and disincentives for data sharing and explores the existing landscape of Data Intermediaries and Data Altruism Organizations. Additionally, it offers insights from a private sector perspective and outlines key data governance and sharing practices concerning Citizen-Generated Data (CGD).

The main conclusions build upon the concept of “Systemic Data Justice,” which emphasizes equity, accountability, and fair representation to foster stronger connections between the supply and demand of data for a more effective and sustainable data economy. Five policy recommendations outline a set of main implications and actionable points for the revision of the INSPIRE Directive (2007) within the context of the common European Green Deal data space, and toward a more sustainable and fair data ecosystem. However, the relevance of these recommendations spills over Green Deal data only, as they outline key elements to ensure that any data ecosystem is both just and impact-oriented…(More)”.