Open data is an invaluable resource for the public and researchers but making information about people publicly available comes with ethical concerns. For example, while NYC taxi pickup and dropoff data has been used for the good to map and understand NYC’s diverse communities, it’s also been used to identify and shame New Yorkers.
In the same vein, while the City Council’s move to make water consumption data publicly available may benefit certain businesses, this data unintentionally publicizes personal information about households, including real-time data indicating when a utility customer may be home or their daily life patterns.
In this presentation Gale Brewer, Adrienne Schmoeker, Eleni Manis, and Albert Fox Cahn will use New York City as the prime example to discuss the ethical risks of open data. After a discussion, the forum will open to attendees to propose and workshop solutions to eliminate these risks and make the most of open data.