- About
- Convenors
- Programme 2016-17
- Past Events
About
The Ethics of a Data-Driven Society (2016-17)
Themes:
Big Data and the Future of Work
In Michaelmas Term (2016) we will explore how Big Data is reshaping the worlds of work, production and employment. We will analyse whether the promise of 'on-demand' production and automated logistics drives the agenda for the 'big data' economy; explore the expanding role of the algorithms in task allocation and performance management for the quantified workplace as well as the impact of device proliferation, ubiquitous connectivity and the rise of social media on surveillance and profiling of employees.
Big Data, Materiality and the Environment
Lent Term. Data is commonly conceived as intangible and ubiquitous, driving decisions through a series of bits, codes and mathematical algorithms. At the same time, it is both material and localised, composed of structures, buildings, devices and people. In Lent term we explore the material aspects of data and how these feed into the discussions of 'ethics' in a data driven world.
Our invited speakers, drawn from disciplines that range from materials science and computer science to sociology, anthropology and art, will address issues including the energy demand of data infrastructures, initiatives to bring the material nature of electronic devices to wider attention through the creation of jewellery, and the localised impact of the data centre industry through an ethnographic case study in Sweden.
Big Data and Knowledge
Finally, in Easter Term we will explore the impact of data driven narratives on concepts of knowledge and on the organisation of knowledge production. Issues here include the impact on scientific research of a drive towards open publication of data, the limits of a quantitative view of the world (and the politics of its current primacy in 'big data' narratives over a qualitative one), and the range of views around the importance of data literacy.
Administrative assistance: gradfac@crassh.cam.ac.uk
Convenors
Convenors
Dr Anne Alexander (Cambridge Digital Humanities Network)
Dr Clare Dyer-Smith (Cambridge Big Data Strategic Research Initiative)
Dr Ella McPherson (Department of Sociology)
Dr Richard Milne (Institute of Public Health/PHG Foundation)
Dr Julia Powles (Faculty of Law/Computer Laboratory)
Dr Jatinder Singh (Computing Laboratory)
Previous Convenors
Dr Nicole Janz (Social Sciences Research Methods Centre)
Faculty Advisors (2015-16)
Professor Anna Vignoles (Faculty of Education)
Professor Alan Blackwell (Computer Science and Technology)
Dr Sharath Srinivasan (Political Science and International Studies)
Programme 2016-17
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Surveillance and Employment Relations in a Data-Saturated Society 17 Oct 2016 2:00pm - 4:00pm, Seminar Room SG1, Alison Richard Building David Renton (Garden Court Chambers) -at Ethics of Big Data [Online registration] |
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Managed by an Algorithm? The rise of ‘on-demand working’ and the ‘Gig Economy’ 31 Oct 2016 2:00pm - 4:00pm, Seminar Room SG1, Alison Richard Building Ala'a Shehabi (The Work Foundation), V De Stefano (ILO)- at Ethics of Big Data [Online registration] |
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The Quantified Self at Work 14 Nov 2016 2:00pm - 4:00pm, Seminar Room SG1, Alison Richard Building Phoebe Moore (Middlesex) -at Ethics of Big Data [Online registration] |
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Workshop/The Ethics of Machine Learning in Professional Practice 28 Nov 2016 12:00pm - 5:00pm, Seminar Room SG1, Alison Richard Building Workshop by application – at Ethics of Big Data |
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Algorithmic Accountability 16 Jan 2017 12:00pm - 6:30pm, Venue and time tbc – Joint session, Ethics of Big Data and Politics & Paradoxes of Transparency |
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Locating the Cloud in Sweden‘s North 30 Jan 2017 2:00pm - 4:00pm, Seminar room SG1, Alison Richard Building Asta Vonderau (Stockholm) -at Ethics of Big Data |
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The Growth of Internet Services and Energy Demand – Is There a Limit? 13 Feb 2017 2:00pm - 4:00pm, Seminar room SG1, Alison Richard Building Mike Hazas (Lancaster)-at Ethics of Big Data |
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What’s in my stuff? 27 Feb 2017 2:00pm - 4:00pm, Seminar room SG1, Alison Richard Building Maria Hanson, Karen Vernon-Parry (Sheffield Hallam University) -at Ethics of Big Data |
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The Challenges of Transparency in the Digital Age 23 Mar 2017 11:30am - 3:30pm, Room S1, 1st floor, Alison Richard Building Joint Workshop. Ethics of Big Data and Pol & Paradoxes of Transparency. Limited places. Online Registration required. |
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Reproducibility Challenges in Empirical Social Science: Balancing Ethics and Transparency 8 May 2017 2:00pm - 4:00pm, Seminar Room SG1, Alison Richard Building Nicole Janz (Nottingham) at Ethics of Big Data |
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The Epistemology of Digital Platforms 22 May 2017 2:00pm - 4:00pm, Seminar Room SG1, Alison Richard Building Jean-Christophe Plantin (LSE) at Ethics of Big Data |
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Data Stories and Data Citizenships 5 Jun 2017 2:00pm - 4:00pm, Seminar Room SG1, Alison Richard Building Jennifer Gabrys (Goldsmiths) at Ethics of Big Data (Online Registration) |
Past Events
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What is Big Data? 7 Oct 2015 2:00pm - 4:00pm, Microsoft Reseach on Station Road Alison Powell (LSE), Alex Taylor (Microsoft Research) Walk and discussion- Ethics of Big Data |
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Inside Snowden’s Suitcase 21 Oct 2015 12:00pm - 2:00pm, Seminar Room SG1, Alison Richard Building Evan Light (Concordia University)- Ethics of Big Data |
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Who Makes Data Big? 4 Nov 2015 12:00pm - 2:00pm, Seminar Room SG1, Alison Richard Building Mark Coté (KCL), Paolo Gerbaudo (KCL), Anne Alexander and John Naughton (Cambridge) – Ethics of Big Data |
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Why does Ethics Matter to Big Data? 18 Nov 2015 12:00pm - 2:00pm, Seminar Room SG1, Alison Richard Building Aidan White (Ethical Journalism Network) Brent Mittelstadt (Oxford Internet Institute), Lorna Woods (Essex) -Ethics of Big Data |
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Health and Policy Research in Africa 13 Jan 2016 12:00pm - 2:00pm, Seminar Room SG1, Alison Richard Building Claudia Abreu Lopez (Africa's Voices Foundation)- Ethics of Big Data |
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Patient Record Linkage in Hospitals 27 Jan 2016 12:00pm - 2:00pm, Seminar Room SG1, Alison Richard Building Lydia Drumright (Cambridge)-Ethics of Big Data |
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Administrative Data 10 Feb 2016 12:00pm - 2:00pm, Seminar Room SG1, Alison Richard Building Anna Vignoles (Cambridge), Andrew Boyd (ALSPAC) -Ethics of Big Data |
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Social Media Research 24 Feb 2016 12:00pm - 2:00pm, Seminar Room SG1, Alison Richard Building Dhiraj Murthy (Goldsmiths)-Ethics of Big Data |
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Public Panel: Mock Ethics Review 9 Mar 2016 12:00pm - 2:00pm, Seminar Room SG1, Alison Richard Building Public panel discussion-Ethics of Big Data |
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Ethics of Big Data Workshop 10 Jun 2016 10:00am - 6:00pm, Seminar room SG2, Alison Richard Building. Jake Metcalf (Data & Society Institute), Bendert Zevenbergen (Oxford Internet Institute), Madeleine Greenhalgh (Cabinet Office), Julia Powles (Cambridge)-Ethics of Big Data |
