The AI Book

CHAPTER 54Making Data Your Most Valuable Asset

By Peggy Tsai¹

¹Vice President of Data Solutions, BigID

Digital ethics are a standard of principles that can serve as a framework for promoting social good and for instilling desired behaviours in groups of people. In the past, corporations have utilized codes of conduct to shape the behaviours and conduct of their employees in and out of the workplace that ranged from dress codes to behaviours on social media. What is the distinction specifical to ethics? The word “ethics” conjures up references to morality and involves defining concepts of right and wrong conduct. People are shaped by their culture, upbringing and personal experiences to define right and wrong. Today, compared to any other point in history, there are unlimited uses and applications on data that data collectors now possess. What is their moral responsibility, if any, to their customers to treat the data with care and respect?

While many corporations collect and leverage customer data for their business operations, very little information is shared with their customers on how they use, save and protect their data. Marketing and sales campaigns hide behind the theory of aggregation in which they believe a single customer’s identity is anonymous amongst a group. However, personal information can still be inferred when cross-matched against other data sets.

Why Do We Need Data Ethics Now?

Let’s talk about the timeliness of digital ethics. Data has never been more ...