This May 2014 launch blog by
Data-Pop Alliance’s leadership: Emmanuel Letouzé, Claire Melamed, Alex
‘Sandy’ Pentland, Phuong Pham, Emma Samman and Patrick Vinck explains why they
started this alliance. This post is part of the Wikiprogress discussion
on "Making
data more accessible to society at large".
As our lives have become
increasingly digital, the amount and variety of data that the world’s
population generates every day is growing exponentially, as are our capacities
to extract ‘insights’ from them. The potential of ‘Big Data’ for human
development and humanitarian action has stirred a great deal of both excitement
and skepticism since the concept became mainstream at the dawn of the decade.
But simply opposing the ‘promise and perils’ of Big Data is a dead end;
recognizing their co-existence a mere starting point.
Looking a generation ahead,
observing the persistent prevalence of absolute poverty, the rise of global
inequality, and the many walls and ceilings impeding well-being, we wondered:
what will it take for Big Data to have by then served the cause of human
progress to the best of its ability and ours, as part of the larger “data
revolution”? Our answer—our contribution—is the creation of the Data-Pop
Alliance.
There is no shortage of
valuable publications and conferences, initiatives and working groups, proofs
of concepts and lab projects, in the fast expanding universe of ‘Big Data for
social good’. But we are frustrated by its high level of institutional
fragmentation and corresponding lack of a coherent intellectual
direction—especially in relation to the context and concerns of poor developing
countries. Individual projects and research do not sufficiently build upon or
learn from each other, and movement beyond the project and pilot stage towards
the use of Big Data at scale will thus be difficult and probably inefficient.
Too many discussions are rooted in ideologies and assumptions rather than in
solid empirical findings and a clear theory of social change.
"Big Data must increase and not reduce the power of citizens"
What we saw and see as
missing is ‘something’—a player or a group of players—serving as a connecting
hub, sounding board, and driving force, with the credibility and agility, the
intent and capacity, to promote the kind of ‘Big Data revolution’ we feel is
needed. What brought us and our organizations together is the conviction that
Big Data must increase and not reduce the power of citizens: that the kinds of
low granularity, high frequency, digital personal data (these digital
"breadcrumbs") passively emitted by humans ought to be leveraged to
impact policies and politics for the benefit of people. We want to see
Big Data amplify the voice and knowledge of the emitters of data, not just improve
the insights and means of surveillance of corporations and governments. This
will require a better informed, more empowered, global citizenry, and a deeper
understanding of the appropriate balance between individual, social,
governmental, and commercial interests—with the overarching ethical dimensions
and implications.
This is why we created the Data-Pop
Alliance: to spur a ‘humanistic’, people-centered, Big Data revolution,
cautiously, humbly but resolutely, by providing an enabling environment for
learning, information sharing, experimentation, evaluation and capacity
building; to catalyze and coordinate developments and innovations in the use of
Big Data to help serve the cause of human progress.
Data-Pop Alliance will be a
place for the exchange of ideas and information and a broker and implementer of
projects. We believe that structural impact will only come about through
a range of connected activities, rather than through a single big initiative or
a myriad of disjointed projects. We don’t know yet how Big Data can be best
used for human development and social progress. Answers will come from a
combination of opportunistic and strategic decisions and actions both on the
supply and demand sides of the field. But these should be taken with an eye on
the main prize: a future where Big Data improves lives and reduces
inequalities, rather than one characterized by a new and widening digital
divide.
It is only by linking and
leveraging skills, perspectives, and resources in an inter-disciplinary,
systematic, and collegial manner that we will collectively be able to make the
most of the tremendous potential offered by Big Data to create more agile and
more accountable sociopolitical ecosystems, while avoiding its main traps and
pitfalls. In this, we are fortunate enough to be joined by an incredible number
of institutional and individual partners in a wide range of fields and sectors,
from computer science to humanitarian assistance, official statistics to
statistical machine-learning, working in small non-governmental organizations
and large international institutions, official bodies and academic
establishments.
Of course, differences of
views are and will be represented in Data-Pop Alliance—along, and at times at
odds with, ‘expected’ political lines and economic interests. An obviously
contentious question is: in a post-Snowden era, how much, how, by and for whom,
when and for what purpose, should cell-phone data be collected, shared and
analyzed? Addressing that question—and many others—won’t be easy. But our
conviction, based on the lessons of past revolutions and our own experiences,
is that the confrontation of competing perspectives coupled with the constant
recall of our common objectives is the best and indeed only way to create
constructive change.
And so this ‘launch blog
post’ is also a call to action and connection to everyone willing to contribute
to our mission statement: promoting a people-centered Big Data revolution for
development and social progress.
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