Working with data is not only about algorithms, feature selection, business domain and all of the other technical topics usually brought up in discussions about the field. The current availability of data and processing power enables us to invent new ways to approach problems in society. Now more than ever, we as tech workers need to think how to act ethically and not just by the law.
Fortunately in the past years we saw new initiatives like Fairness, Accountability, and Transparency in Machine Learning, books like Weapons of Math Destruction and courses like Data Science Ethics.
Perhaps we need to build a better bridge between hard and soft science, as suggested in this article.
This is a very important and impactful subject to shape the world we want to live in. I’d like to write more in future posts in the hope to raise awareness and spark stimulating discussions.