Data Practices

João Victor · Jan 07, 2022

When we talk about data science, one topic comes ahead lately: data practices. Is extremely important we pay attention to what it exactly is.

Data practices it’s an ethic theme, and like all the ethic things is, it’s subjetive! You decide in your conscience what is right and wrong. And here is the reason to standard the data practices with laws and punishments to what the majority considers right - since the current laws isn't that clear and not applicable properly at certain times. In Brazil, lgpd fulfills this role.

Recently in Brazil we had a leak of personal information of doctors who defends the childhood vaccination, as everybody knows, the president of Brazil is extremely conservative and antivax - he struggles against the science, it's like punch a tip of a knife. And who was behind the leaks of the doctors' personal data? Federal deputy Bia Kicis (PSL-DF), supporter of the president of Brazil. What a coincidence, isn't it? It’s now up to all the necessary consequences for those responsible.

In this part of the text I’d like to pick up a reference from Joel Grus who once wrote: "the most important goal of data ethics is to inspire reflection on the ethical consequences of our behavior". And that's the word: Reflection. All that we do in daily basis needs ethics and it's come with a long thought of reflection! In this field isn't different, maybe a algorithm problem come across to all of this - a simple modification in the structure of an article discovery algorithm, for example, can cause a big leak and millions of people may read something they shouldn't or hadn't read before

In conclusion, we are going to do the right thing, standard all of this, just for the fact that's the topic it's on the rise and demands in the data practice curricula make it a big thing. Thereby, start with you, take care what you post, share and read; so you won't fall into consequences, always remember that ethics comes first in everything in life.