bridging the gap: tech ↔︎ activism

csvconf, May 2016 @zararah

Bridging the gap: tech ↔ activism

By Zara Rahman @zararah

@zararahcsvconf, May 2016

background

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@zararahcsvconf, May 2016

#responsibledata

https://theengineroom.orghttps://responsibledata.io

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https://responsibledata.io/reflection-stories/

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…sometimes tech really DOES improve people's lives

Women on Waves: the Abortion Drone

The Counted

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…sometimes it doesn't.

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I'll talk about…

• Using sensitive data

• Analysing data

• Common challenges

• Questions to ask yourself

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Using sensitive dataReflection Story #6

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MediCapt

• Standardising data collection

• Digitising data collection

• Iterating upon tool choice

• Reality check

@zararahcsvconf, May 2016

MediCapt

• Standardising data collection

• Digitising data collection

• Iterating upon tool choice

• Reality check

@zararahcsvconf, May 2016

MediCapt

• Standardising data collection

• Digitising data collection

• Iterating upon tool choice

• Reality check

@zararahcsvconf, May 2016

MediCapt

• Standardising data collection

• Digitising data collection

• Iterating upon tool choice

• Reality check

@zararahcsvconf, May 2016

Sharing reports of violence

• Personally Identifiable Information

• Future proofing

• Collaboration

• Launch

Reflection Story #3

@zararahcsvconf, May 2016

Sharing reports of violence

• Personally Identifiable Information

• Future proofing

• Collaboration

• Launch

@zararahcsvconf, May 2016

Sharing reports of violence

• Personally Identifiable Information

• Future proofing

• Collaboration

• Launch

@zararahcsvconf, May 2016

Sharing reports of violence

• Personally Identifiable Information

• Future proofing

• Collaboration

• Launch

@zararahcsvconf, May 2016

Sharing reports of violence

• Personally Identifiable Information

• Future proofing

• Collaboration

• Launch

@zararahcsvconf, May 2016

Data on killings in the Syrian conflict

https://hrdag.org

Reflection Story #7

@zararahcsvconf, May 2016

Data sources for casualties in Syria• March 15 Group

• Syrian government

• Syrian Center for Statistics and Research

• Syrian Network for Human Rights

• Syrian Observatory for Human Rights

• Syrian Revolution General Council

• Syria Shuhada Website

• Violations Documentation Centre, the documentation arm of the Local Coordination Committees

• Damascus Center for Human Rights Studies

• …and more.

– Brian Root, Numbers are Only Human, page 6

Imagine the decision that might have to be made to categorize a typical citizen with no military training, who has picked up a gun shortly before his death. Perhaps the coder might have a bias to continue calling this person a civilian. But this person took up

arms against the government, did they not?

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Image copied with permission from ‘Searching for Trends: Analyzing Patterns in Conflict Violence Data’ by Megan Price and Anita Gohdes

Documented deaths in Tartus

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readers' visual literacy

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Data in the Ebola response

http://cis-india.org/papers/ebola-a-big-data-disaster

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Data in the Ebola response

• Using Call Detail Records (CDRs)

• Getting access to the data

• Decision-making

• Digital infrastructure

@zararahcsvconf, May 2016

Data in the Ebola response

• Using Call Detail Records (CDRs)

• Getting access to the data

• Decision-making

• Digital infrastructure

@zararahcsvconf, May 2016

Data in the Ebola response

• Using Call Detail Records (CDRs)

• Getting access to the data

• Decision-making

• Digital infrastructure

@zararahcsvconf, May 2016

Data in the Ebola response

• Using Call Detail Records (CDRs)

• Getting access to the data

• Decision-making

• Digital infrastructure

@zararahcsvconf, May 2016

commonalities

• Admitting uncertainty: quickly changing, grey areas

@zararahcsvconf, May 2016

commonalities

• Admitting uncertainty: quickly changing, grey areas

• Context: the numbers aren't everything

@zararahcsvconf, May 2016

commonalities

• Admitting uncertainty: quickly changing, grey areas

• Context: the numbers aren't everything

• Diversity: importance of different skills + perspectives

@zararahcsvconf, May 2016

commonalities

• Admitting uncertainty: quickly changing, grey areas

• Context: the numbers aren't everything

• Diversity: importance of different skills + perspectives

• Collaboration: communication + building with

@zararahcsvconf, May 2016

conclusion // questions to ask yourself

@zararahcsvconf, May 2016

what might an adversary do with your data?

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what's your holistic security plan?

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what does informed consent look like for your users?

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what levels of technical literacy do your users have?

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in your team, whose job is it to think about the ethics?

@zararahcsvconf, May 2016

questions to ask yourself• What might an adversary might do with your data?

• What's your holistic security plan?

• What does informed consent mean for the people you're working with?

• What levels of technical literacy do your users have?

• Whose job is it to think about the ethics of what you're doing?

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tech + data projects can have all sorts of unforeseen consequences

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…even when they are well-intentioned.

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thank you! mail@zararah.net

@zararah