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Researchers reflect on ethical, safe and constructive use of data

Academic community discusses how to use information generated by digital technologies

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Imagine the following hypothetical scenario. An autonomous car, one that does not require the presence of a driver, is traveling along an expressway, when suddenly a pedestrian appears in front of it. Programmed to make decisions in situations of this type, the system responsible for controlling the vehicle has two alternatives: brake abruptly, saving the passerby and putting the physical integrity of its occupants at risk, or moving forward, running over the passerby and protecting the lives of passengers. . Which option should prevail? Dilemmas like this, increasingly frequent, are the object of study in a relatively new field of science, called “Data Ethics” (in English, Data Ethics). Researchers from different areas (computer scientists, biologists, doctors, chemists, engineers and social scientists, among others) have been discussing around the world how to use the profusion of data generated by digital technologies in a constructive, safe and ethical way.

Photo: Antoninho Perri
Professor Claudia Bauzer Medeiros: “With the advent of Big Data, opportunities were created to improve people’s lives, but also to invade their privacy”

On June 20th, the subject was debated for the first time at Unicamp, in a workshop that brought together researchers from different fields of knowledge. The initiative was from the Center for Research in Computational Science and Engineering (CCES), one of the Research, Innovation and Diffusion Centers (CEPIDs) financed by the São Paulo State Research Support Foundation (Fapesp). According to the deputy director of CEPID-CCES, Claudia Bauzer Medeiros, who is also a professor at the University's Computing Institute (IC), Data Ethics is a relatively new area of ​​science, created no more than ten years ago.

The topic began to be investigated after the emergence of so-called Big Data, a term coined to designate the growing volume of digital data (texts, photos, videos, documents, etc.) that needs to be stored, organized, protected and recovered using new computational techniques. “With Big Data, opportunities have been created to improve people’s lives, but also to invade their privacy. This conflict has motivated computing professionals and several other areas to discuss ways to make better use of the abundance of data available in the digital universe and try to prevent it from being misused”, he explains.

Professor Claudia Bauzer Medeiros believes that the most appropriate title for the event would be “Ethics in the use of data”. “However, this is not a new problem. What is new is exactly the digital dimension of data, which has been creating questions regarding individual rights to privacy, security and others. The title allows us to emphasize this difference,” she says. The abundance of information available on the web, continues the professor, can be very useful, for example, in the work of scientists and journalists.

These, obviously, need to be responsible for filtering and disclosing the data they consider relevant. On the other hand, in the task of searching for information, these professionals, as well as other web users, leave traces of the paths they follow, that is, their clicks. “This can reveal people’s habits and customs. These are data that can also be used positively or negatively”, reinforces the expert.

Photo: Antoninho Perri
Pro-Rector of Research Munir Salomão Skaf: “The contribution of all areas of knowledge will make us move towards the formulation of an institutional policy for managing our data”

The same happens when people shop online. Tracked, the behavior of Internet users can reveal the consumption habits of a given segment and generate promotional campaigns by different brands of clothing, footwear and electronics, to name just three examples. But it can also be an indicator of the wealth pattern of certain consumers and give rise to the commission of crimes. “The discussion around these issues is not trivial. What is the focus of the debate is how to protect the privacy and security of people, corporations, institutions and governments, without compromising the circulation of important data for the development of science and society”, points out Claudia Bauzer Medeiros.

An idea that has been gaining ground among scholars of the problem, informs the IC professor, is the establishment of protocols that impose guidelines for the use of data generated by digital technologies. This is a mission that will require a lot of reflection and common sense. The deputy director of CEPID-CCES gives an example of the complexity of the task. “When we talk about protecting, we are also talking about making access to data difficult. Preventing access to a person's blood test, thus ensuring their privacy, is also preventing science from using the information contained in the document to develop research and eventually find a cure for diseases. Finding the balance between these two needs will be a great challenge”, infers Claudia Bauzer Medeiros.

The professor remembers that Data Ethics is divided into subareas, such as Algorithm Ethics, which analyzes how machines interpret data. It is in this case that the example given at the beginning of this report is inserted. If the autonomous car's robotic system decides to run over the pedestrian, who would be held legally responsible for the accident? The manufacturer, the machine programmer or the car owner? “As you can see, we have very important issues that need to be discussed before we reach a consensus”, she considers.


Institutional issue

Director of CEPID-CCES, Professor Munir Salomão Skaf, who is also Pro-Rector of Research at Unicamp, states that issues relating to Data Ethics have deserved attention from the University, as well as other state higher education institutions in São Paulo. According to him, universities lack an institutional policy for managing the data they generate. “Foreign universities, much older than Brazilian ones, have already been adopting initiatives of this kind, in order to preserve data as scientific heritage”, he observes.

The challenge, once again, is to define a model that allows storage, security, traceability and access to information that must be shared, but also the protection of that considered confidential. In the second case are data related, for example, to the preservation of intellectual heritage. “The demand for an institutional policy in this area is now emerging in Brazil. Fapesp is organizing guidelines in this regard, with the participation of São Paulo state universities and other institutions, such as UFSCar, UFABC and Unifesp”, informs Skaf.

Like Professor Claudia Bauzer Medeiros, the Vice-Dean of Research at Unicamp points out that issues relating to Data Ethics are not restricted to the scope of computing. “This is a problem in computing, but also in engineering, chemistry, biology, medicine, social sciences. The contribution of all areas of knowledge will make us move towards the formulation of an institutional policy for managing our data”, considers Skaf.

 

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Data Center | Photo: Free Images | sxc.hu

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