97 Things About Ethics Everyone in Data Science Should Know

Chapter 73. Ethics: The Next Big Wave for Data Science Careers?

Linda Burtch

Managing Director, Burtch Works

With the spotlight on data privacy and ethics concerns in the wake of regulations like the European Union’s GDPR, data breaches at high-profile companies, illegal use of data, and more, all organizations will need to examine the ethics of their own approaches to data collection, analysis, and monetization. The power and scope that our data collection capability now offers is increasingly introducing a multitude of ethics questions on a wide range of applications that have never needed to be addressed in the past.

One consequence of this heightened awareness of data ethics may be the impact of negative publicity on an organization’s ability to recruit in a very tight labor market. It’s important that senior level analytics leaders be aware of how ethical dilemmas in data science can impact their organization’s appeal to potential talent. Data scientists have an increasing number of career options, and as the data movement continues to mature, we’re seeing many data scientists making career decisions based on what a firm does, or its “mission.” In many cases, data scientists are even willing to trade off higher salaries in favor of “mission-driven” roles. Not only can high-profile ethics snafus and controversies create a public relations crisis, but they can also impede a ...