97 Things About Ethics Everyone in Data Science Should Know

Chapter 22. Data Science and Deliberative Justice: The Ethics of the Voice of “the Other”

Robert J. McGrath

Chair, Department of Health Management and Policy, University of New Hampshire

Data science—by which I refer to the collective whole of methods largely predicated on forms of artificial intelligence (machine learning, deep learning, technological learning in general)—has pervaded society with well-documented effects, both positive¹ and negative.² And it continues to engender many discussions weighing the two and the ultimate benefit to society.³

But it is here, at this intersection of society and technology, that a more foundational contemplation may be needed. Often cited in these examinations of the effects of data science are the outcomes, or the unanticipated consequences of actions, such as with the ethics of algorithmic development or their alteration as learning progresses. These arise in the cases of systematic bias, such as with minority biases, racial biases, or other structural biases, which if not addressed will propagate in the autonomous learning process. But what is lost in this examination is the actions themselves and how technology replaces not only human activity but also parts of the collective voice.

Collective decision making is the foundation of all social structures, of all societies. It is the collective identity that weaves its way through all social ...