97 Things About Ethics Everyone in Data Science Should Know

Chapter 20. Ethics as a Competitive Advantage

Dave Mathias

Cofounder, Beyond the Data

As a former-attorney-turned-analytics-person, my view on ethics has changed. Instead of looking at ethics as something that is a compliance item, I look at it as a strategy and a competitive differentiator. High data and analytics ethics can truly be a competitive advantage for organizations. Of course, this higher ethics threshold must be genuine and align with an organization’s culture, but if it does, and the organization takes up this higher ethical bar, then there are a variety of benefits it may be able to reap.

First, in the war for talent, ethics can be a competitive advantage in hiring. Companies like Google and Microsoft have recently faced ethical pushback from their employees and received bad press over work the companies undertook.

Second, customers and partners are looking for companies to be more transparent and ethical in how they harness data. Customers are tired of reading the fine print. They are tired of the bait and switch. They are tired of companies asking for forgiveness, not asking for permission. Organizations that recognize this and raise their data and analytics ethical bar will be able to differentiate themselves from their competitors and, at the same time, may be able to be more resourceful and analytics-focused and thus save costs.

Third, brands will be increasingly ...