Charity Digital podcast - Safeguarding the sector: Ethical data use

This episode continues our previous discussion, with a specific focus on the ethical use of data. Charities have a responsibility to safeguard sensitive supporter or beneficiary data - especially when this data extends to vulnerable service users.

Discussion focuses on machine-learning and predictive data models. Often, we look at these models to give us insight into the future, but Giselle Cory argues that really what they provide us with is a record of the past. This brings to light one of the subject’s central ethical questions: how can charities use data in a way that drives more effective service, but does not become prescriptive, or marginalise those deemed by the model not to be priorities? What are the ethical ramifications of using tech to predict the future, when we are not fully aware of the extent to which these predictive models are shaping that future?

The podcast also examines related ethical obligations for data scientists, such as factoring for inherent bias, and the difficulty of future-proofing people’s privacy when we don’t know how data will be applied in the future.

Johnathan Chevallier welcomes Giselle Cory (Executive Director of Datakind), Chris Martin (CEO of The Mix) and James Mullarkey (Head of Digital at The British Veterinary Association) for the first instalment of an informative and thought-provoking discussion.

You can listen to the episode below:

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Have a question or discussion topic you’d like us to cover on the podcast? Reach out to us at podcasts@charitydigital.org.uk.