Big data can be used for good—from tracking disease to exposing human rights violations—and for bad: implementing surveillance and control. Sarah Williams will remind us, through some historical background and her own projects, that data inevitably represent the ideologies of those who control its use; data analytics and algorithms too often exclude women, the poor, and ethnic groups.

This talk will have a strong focus on urban planning and urban analytics, but the principles should apply to all projects that rely heavily on data. Project examples will include Digital Matatus in Nairobi, where open data was used to create an informal transit system, or the Million Dollar Blocks in US, now part of MoMa’s permanent collection, that aimed to map where over a million dollars was spent incarcerating people.

During this talk, Sarah Williams will provide us with a guide for working with data in more ethical and responsible ways. Her method emphasizes collaboration among data scientists, policy experts, data designers, and the public. This approach generates policy debates, influences civic decisions, and informs design to help ensure that the voices of people represented in the data are neither marginalized nor left unheard.

This event will have the participation of NOVA Cidade (more info below) during Q&A.

The Event is online and free of charge!
19:00  Welcome
19:05 Talk from Sarah Williams
19:40 Q&A
Don’t be shy and ask some questions via comment.