Thursday, 10 February 2022 at 11:00-12:00 via Zoom

A presentation by Chantale Tippett (Nesta Research Fellow at the University of Oslo’s Centre for Technology, Innovation and Culture).

In the wake of mounting societal concerns, many organisations working to develop novel data technologies such as artificial intelligence have rushed to adopt ethical principles, engage in algorithmic auditing, or increase the transparency of their work. Welcomed by some as a step in the right direction, critics have nonetheless argued that most of these initiatives are ineffective at best, and at worst constitute forms of ‘ethics washing’ to avoid regulation and public scrutiny. In order to leverage these technologies for the common good, critics argue, we must reckon with the ways in which they are fundamentally political: in determining whose CV is reviewed when they apply for a job, which children are flagged as ‘at risk’ in a child welfare office, and what news people see, novel data technologies increasingly shape the infrastructure that determines who gets what, when, and how. Attempting to remain neutral on how such questions are answered is not only impossible, but it also risks perpetuating an often unjust status quo. How, then, should the developers of such technologies proceed? In this seminar, we’ll explore the current state of the debate around the ethics and politics of novel data technologies, and how this is shaping new prescriptions for action.

Chantale Tippett is the Nesta Research Fellow at the University of Oslo’s Centre for Technology, Innovation and Culture, where she currently explores new approaches to integrating social, moral and political values into innovation in general, and data science in particular. Prior to joining the University of Oslo, Chantale spent several years working in Nesta’s Data Analytics Practice where she led and contributed to projects on topics ranging from the future of public interest news, mapping innovation in health, and developing novel indicators to inform research and innovation policy. Chantale holds an MSc in Public Health Nutrition from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, where she first developed an interest in innovation for the common good.

This workshop is organised by TalTech Industrial project. TalTech Industrial has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 952410.

The seminar is in English.