In response to the increasing global dialogue regarding the ethical and responsible use of location data, the teams at EthicalGeo (USA) and Benchmark Initiative (UK) have developed and published the Locus Charter. A set of 10 foundation principles promoting the ethical and responsible use of location data around the world. It is important to recognise that ethics is a subject that is impacted by both culture and regional aspects. As such it is important to review such principles within a regional context. In particular to develop guidelines and frameworks that help to translate the essence of the principles into actionable guidance that is relevant for our UK context.
This session is the first in a series of webinars and discussions that will be jointly provided by the RGS-IBG and the AGI. The AGI & RGS-IBG recognise the role our respective organisations provide in supporting the UK geospatial profession to explore and understand the impact and action required to address the topic of ethics in the use of location data. These events are designed to help inform our community, provide opportunity for feedback and to generate inputs into how we as a professional community can best support the ideals and principles outlined in the Locus Charter.
The webinar will give an introduction to the charter, an overview of key activities that relate to the location data ethics topic specifically within the United Kingdom and a discussion panel focused on the experience of the UK SME with ethical and responsible use of location data. Looking at both the opportunities and the challenges.
Where’s the Harm? Geospatial data ethics in Practice – 6 July 2021
Earlier this year, the Locus Charter was launched, proposing a set of shared international principles to support responsible practice with location data. But how do you put ethics into practice in your day-to-day work? What does responsible practice mean for geospatial data experts and for the much wider circle of professionals whose work makes use of insights from geospatial data and analytics?
Presentations and panel discussion
- Chair: Denise McKenzie, Co-Director, Benchmark Initiative; Chair, Board of Directors, AGI
- Charles Kennelly, CTO, ESRI UK
- Mariam Crichton, Group MD, 4 Earth Intelligence
- Miranda Sharp, CEO Metis Digital; Member of the Smart London Board
- Ben Hawes, Benchmark Initiative (Locus Charter)
View the event recording for ‘Where’s the Harm? Geospatial data ethics in Practice’ – 6 July 2021
A right to be lost: Bias, Anonymity, Privacy – 15 July 2021
It is increasingly hard to avoid being mapped digitally in one way or another. And often, you will take the trade-off, between leaving a digital trail and enjoying the benefits of mobile mapping services. But how can you make informed decisions? What are the costs and benefits of being in, or left out of, some datasets? And if you use location data, how do you decide what is fair and reasonable, and what goes too far?
View the event recording for ‘A right to be lost: Bias, Anonymity, Privacy’ – 15 July 2021
Take my word for it: Communication, Transparency & Creating Trust Communications – 20 July 2021
Notoriously, many consumer digital services rely on user agreements that hardly anyone reads. Many consumers are unsure of how much they can trust a service and use it anyway. A lot of organisations are trying to improve this situation and build better trust relationships, but this can be complicated with location data, when people don’t necessarily know if they appear in a dataset.
View the event recording for ‘Take my word for it: Communication, Transparency & Creating Trust Communications’ – 20 July 2021