Assessing the Ethical Implications of Big Data Sets

• Activity Number: 428
• Type: Invited
• Date/Time: Wednesday, August 6, 2014 : 8:30 AM to 10:20 AM
• Sponsor: Committee on Professional Ethics
• Author(s): Kirsten Martin*+
• Companies: George Washington University
• Keywords: Big Data ; ethics ; business ethics

Abstract

The use of Big Data - or the aggregation and analysis of large data sets in order to identify both trends and personally identifiable data - is becoming more popular in commercial and government sectors. However, not all data sources are equal. I argue the norms governing the acquisition and use of Big Data should parallel the ethics of firms entering into any transaction. When Apple or Wal-Mart enter into an agreement with a supplier, the firms are held responsible to know how their product is made, how the employees are treated, and whether the laws and norms obeyed (or broken) along the way. Similarly, when organizations acquire or contribute to large data sets about users (Big Data), these firms have a responsibility to understand how the data set was developed and the laws and norms obeyed along the way. Data sets can be analyzed to determine if the data stewardship practices of the data source match that of the organization and if the use of the data source has any harmful consequences. The goal of this paper is to identify the obligations of firms using Big Data and outline guiding principles and questions in analyzing data sets for use in statistical analysis.