97 Things About Ethics Everyone in Data Science Should Know

Chapter 27. Data Ethics and the Lemming Effect

Bob Gladden

VP, Enterprise Analytics, Highmark Health

Over the past decade, we have witnessed an eruption of individual data being collected and made available for use in the cybersphere. This, coupled with extensive options for burst computing capability, has resulted in analytic algorithms with a voracious appetite for data that may provide unique insights about individuals and/or populations. Seeing data as a playground for data scientists to explore has significant upside, but with it comes a dark underbelly. Of greatest concern is the irresponsible use of very private data to feed algorithms, which can result in unintended consequences, embarrassing public relation challenges, or runaway AI/ML algorithms that can integrate biases.

You may be familiar with the Lemming Effect. It is based on the unsubstantiated tendency of these small rodents to mindlessly kill themselves by jumping off of cliffs, one after the other. It has come to represent unquestioningly following others without consideration of the consequences. So how does the use of expanded personal data equate to the Lemming Effect?

It seems that if one organization is using all the data at its disposal, this behavior acts like an aphrodisiac to other organizations, who feel compelled to do the same thing. They may do this with little or no regard for the consequences. ...