Ethical Data Science

Data science permeates every aspect of our world. If information is power, it’s important that we leverage that power for good. As an organization looks towards applying data analytics and ‘big data’ to improve the way they operate, how do they know that their use of this technology is ethical?

Ethical Awareness in Data Science

Ethical awareness has become increasingly more important as privacy becomes a larger issue. ISM Canada (ISM) takes ethical decision-making regarding data science very seriously. We were one of the first 100 groups to take the pledge at Tech for Good when the initiative began in 2018. Here are the tenets of the pledge:

Build trust and respect your data

ISM has strict, defined data governance and security. ISM’s data handling guidelines often exceed our clients’ stated security requirements. We manage our clients’ data the way we would expect others to use our own.

Be transparent and give choice

Informed consent from individuals who use our technology is vital to the success of our working relationship.

Reskill the future of work

As technology evolves, so should our human resources. We are committed to building new skill sets to grow the workforce of tomorrow.

Leave no one behind

The technology we create should benefit everyone regardless of age, gender, economic status, ethnicity or geographic location.

Think inclusively at every stage

The ISM Analytics team endeavours for the results of our work to be of societal benefit. It should be positively impacting as large a group as possible.

Actively participate in collaborative governance

We promise to partner with our community to support ethical decision making. ISM is a contributing member of Data for Good. ISM hosted and presented at a Data for Good event in November of 2018.

We care deeply about the ethical implications of data science. Organizations need to be responsible information custodians, and critically analyze how they build ethics into their policies. How does your business make use of advanced analytics practices?

Are you using your data for good?