Opportunity: Pitt Data Ethics

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Data Ethics Across the Disciplines series provides opportunities for Pitt community members to collaboratively explore ethical issues that impact data-driven scholarship across various departments and fields.

About Call for Proposals

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Application Deadline: December 8, 2023

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Possible event topics:

Ethical data collection – what are the ethical implications for not only what data we collect but how we collect it (e.g. informed consent, interrogating bias and neutrality)?

Ethics of data storage and sharing platforms – beyond data security, what issues do researchers face in selecting where to store and share data (e.g. proprietary Terms of Service, AI training on repositories, resource accessibility)?

Data or algorithmic privacy – what methods are used across different disciplines, or what privacy concerns are faced when working with different kinds of data?

Ethics of generative AI – what conversations are needed to empower researchers to interrogate machine learning algorithms (and the data on which they are trained) to better understand the ethical implications around their use in academia?

Data harm – what are researchers doing to combat the data harms in different fields (e.g. consequences of everyday datafication, working with marginalized communities, combatting climate impacts of data storage)?

Pedagogy of data ethics – how might instructors incorporate data ethics into the classroom?

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DRAFTS

When I worked at the Geography of Philosophy Project, I organized a conference with project PI & Distinguished Professor Edouard Machery at the University of Pittsburgh. As the project's overall manager, I coordinated efforts for communications and collaborations for international researchers across 10+ countries from interdisciplinary backgrounds. I managed operations and was part of every aspect of planning.

Specifically, I added to the GPP's programmatic structure that it should be more inclusive to our global team. This resulted in:

• a round table discussion and a 'Research Blitz' being added to the GPP Final Conference in October 2023
• the South African team facilitating two all-team online workshops
• asynchronous communications to relay information between meetings, such as a newsletter and regular announcements
• the PI was moved to make an end of project closing meeting virtually

My addition to this Data Ethics Conference could tentatively include a possibility of me A.) helping facilitate or co-design an un-conference style

In individual user experience, both within and outside of research, there is

I am skilled at navigating both of those topics -- as a coordinator, I wished to see more accessible panels on these topics as a foray into navigating them. My area of expertise is the collaboration and quality control itself in coordination. Which is why I apply to either facilitate a panel on these topics or to help assist the conference organizer's in streamlining the backend of this Data Ethics event series. For instance, I would be curious to see what is 'missing' from the programmatic materials combined and pitch a way for an introductory user panel for conference-goers to easily tour the conference and what data ethics is, as presented by this conference, to create an easy synthesized experience.

I found that across disciplines, people are so often miscommunicating because language in one discipline is used at slightly different values than in others. Its difficult working with others (even within one's discipline or culture) -- sometimes it's easier to work across cultures and disciplines because deliberate consideration goes into interactions and minor elements are considered.

This has ethical repercussions, as minor aspects such as how you send an email or where you insert a link or how we even represent the subtlest of data, can have impacts across countries that impede important results. Obscurity of these issues and timing of communication (timestamps) can lead to misuse and abuse of data, adding noise. It's okay if things are noisy. Not everything can be best practices -- the data you collect is held to the highest of institutional standards. As the coordinator role in a project, the ethics of understanding each other in communication with your collaborators in mundane settings is relevant and not often understood. I'm interested in either facilitating speakers to

I have been deeply embedded in large-scale research collaboration through the Geography of Philosophy Project. Issues often come up around the ethics of communication itself during collaboration and around the sharing and storing of data, especially when working across international cultures. Creating SOPs and data procedures is ideal, but often its hard to fit needs from a high level as you are starting or defining a project. Having rules and standards is also ideal for file naming, storing, frequency, but when working internationally or when with dispersed groups (like students) it is also to each their own on how data is stored with a team or while one is working. So knowing the best practices is one thing, and having working rules of thumb in the meantime is another.

Now, I am not the cyber expert. I am skilled at navigating these topics as the primary project manager and research coordinator. This experience doesn't always relate to the individual researcher's experience. The institutional roles and structures is important to know 'why' these rules are in place between researchers and coordinators, or data collectors and administrators.

In my experience, I would love to help get a panel together to clarify navigating these topics from both a user perspective (someone using these functions regularly, or irregularly) and from an institutional perspective of how and why basic data ethics knowledge matters. There is IRB, which covers high-level data, but doesn't always translate to working with data in real time and helping people know why their own data is also subject to such sensitivity to these rules. I could moderate, assist, or even speak as someone with project coordination experience.

Though, I want to state my experience with cross-disciplinarity is so strong I wish to make known my interest in helping streamline this Data Ethics conference itself. What are the topics about? Is there a panel need to glue it together? Do you need general help with that, or with applying modes of cross-group collaboration to the forefront. I missed the deadline for a proper submission, and am happy to help in some back-end facilitation of this conference in addition to (or, in lieu of) my proposals for planning an un-conference panel.

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Submitted late on Tuesday, December 12.

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reach out to organizers rachel.starry@pitt.edu and dbordelon@pitt.edu

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Submitted application. I am still considering reaching out to organizers personally, and drafting a separate form that links in WIT. (Or maybe connect WIT to the program?)

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Messaged them with the latter highlighting my app and offering to connect WIT, just in case.

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Met Rachel Starry and Dominic Bordelon on Tuesday, December 19, 2023 to discuss next steps, including involvement for the conference in February or March.

• Global perspectives
• Research ethics of data, what do we all consider data
• User interfacing with all these moving parts as a research coordinator

Tools for open access, broader legal and policy considerations, cultural differences from language, power, hierarchy, and bureaucratic, as well as Western methodology being colonial (as we are grant funded, top-down)

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Related to #40

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May connect Edouard

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Presented today on "Navigating the institutional contexts of global research: perspectives operating the Geography of Philosophy Project" with the workshop segment Global Perspectives on Ethical Data Management https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1gS8pvOttTRrteJ6YLoZB2yrdV7H5s-kMIDo7DMUSLfc/edit?usp=sharing