ED Pam Dixon calls for a Nuremberg Code of digital ethics, addresses 40th international conference of data protection and privacy commissioners

Speaking to an audience of global Data Protection Authorities in the capstone session of the 40th International Conference of Data Protection and Privacy Commissioners, WPF Executive Director Pam Dixon discussed the central importance that data should be used for a public good, and must above all, should not create harm. Referencing her extensive peer-reviewed research on biometrics and the Aadhaar ID system in India, (research which was directly quoted in a recent landmark Supreme Court of India privacy ruling) Dixon noted that the legendary Nuremberg Code grew from an urgent need to create long-term protections for all human subject research going forward. “The Nuremberg Code originated as a result of the horrifying reality of unethical human experimentation. It was created so as to ensure that humans never repeat the mistakes made in WWII,” she said. “This code has now become the basis of global law around human subject research and is still effective today. This code grew from a response to reality, it did not originate as an abstract theory of ethics. Today, we need a new Nuremberg code for digital activities, based in the specific realities of our times, and focused on digital and data ethics.”

40th International Conference of Data Protection and Privacy Commissioners, WPF ED Pam Dixon speaking on digital ethics, 25 October 2018, European Parliament Hemicycle, Brussels, Belgium.

Posted October 25, 2018 in Aadhaar, Biometrics, Data Ethics

New Report: Risky Analysis: Assessing and Improving AI Governance Tools

We are pleased to announce the publication of a new WPF report, “Risky Analysis: Assessing and Improving AI Governance Tools.” This report sets out a definition of AI governance tools, documents why and how these tools are critically important for trustworthy AI, and where these tools are around the world. The report also documents problems in some AI governance tools themselves, and suggests pathways to improve AI governance tools and create an evaluative environment to measure their effectiveness. AI systems should not be deployed without simultaneously evaluating the potential adverse impacts of such systems and mitigating their risks, and most of the world agrees about the need to take precautions against the threats posed. The specific tools and techniques that exist to evaluate and measure AI systems for their inclusiveness, fairness, explainability, privacy, safety and other trustworthiness issues — called in the report collectively AI governance tools – can improve such issues. While some AI governance tools provide reassurance to the public and to regulators, the tools too often lack meaningful oversight and quality assessments. Incomplete or ineffective AI governance tools can create a false sense of confidence, cause unintended problems, and generally undermine the promise of AI systems. The report contains rich background details, use cases, potential solutions to the problems discussed in the report, and a global index of AI Governance Tools.
National IDs Around the World — Interactive map

About this Data Visualization: This interactive map displays the presence...
Report: From the Filing Cabinet to the Cloud: Updating the Privacy Act of 1974

This comprehensive report and proposed bill text is focused on the Privacy Act of 1974, an important and early Federal privacy law that applies to the government sector and some contractors. The Privacy Act was written for the 1970s information era -- an era that was characterized by the use of mainframe computers and filing cabinets. Today's digital information era looks much different than the '70s: smart phones are smarter than the old mainframes, and documents are now routinely digitized and stored and perhaps even analyzed in the cloud, among many other changes. The report focuses on why the Privacy Act needs an update that will bring it into this century, and how that could look and work. This work was written by Robert Gellman, and informed by a two-year multi-stakeholder process.