Ethical Perspectives on Personal Data and Automated Decision Making

Dr Steven Finlay

15/5/2014

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Agenda

1. A bit about ethics

2. Ethics, data and decision making

1. Ethics, sometimes known as philosophical ethics, ethical theory, moral theory, and moral philosophy, is a branch of philosophy that involves systematizing, defending and recommending concepts of right and wrong conduct, often addressing disputes of moral diversity. The term comes from the Greek word ἠθικός ethikos from ἦθος ethos, which means "custom, habit". The superfield within philosophy known as axiology includes both ethics and aesthetics and is unified by each sub-branch's concern with value… http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethics

2. Its about right and wrong.

Ethics is….

Subjective, personal, unique…

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A bit about ethics. Definitions

Common ethical frameworks

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Consequentialist“The means justify the ends”

Non-Consequentialist“It’s more about the journey than where you end up…”

Virtues“Virtuous modes

of behaviour”(Aristotle)

(Human) rights“Right to life, liberty,

property, privacy, etc.”(Locke and Rawls)

Religious Teaching(e.g. the ten

commandments)

Kant’s ethical theory

Universality: Ethical is something all rational people would agree with

Golden rule“Do unto others as you

would have done unto you”(Do no evil)

Utilitarianism“Greatest good for the

greatest number”(Jeremy Bentham and

John Stuart Mills)

Ethics

Ethics in practice

• All ethical frameworks have their weaknesses…

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A bit about ethics. Relevance in the real world…

• If I follow all laws and regulations, then that’s all I need to worry about right?

• Lots of laws allow unethical

actions to occur:

“It is illegal to give alcohol to a child under 5”

Another example is tax avoidance:A great example of what we mean when we talk about the spirit of the law as opposed to the letter of the law

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Legal

Ethical

£A bit about ethics. Relevance in the real world…

• It pays to be ethically minded:

• Organizations adopting ethical policies tend to reap the benefits.

• Largest ever study of the relationship between ethical performance and financial performance:

– Losses from reputational damage, resulting from actions that are perceived to be unethical, are particularly severe.

– “Corporate virtue in the form of social and, to a lesser extent, environmental responsibility is rewarding in more ways than one.” (Orlitzky et al. 2003)

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A bit about ethics. Summary

• There are many ethical perspectives. We all have our own view on the rightness/wrongness of different actions.

• Ethical theory is all very well, but putting it into practice is difficult. The world is a messy mixed up place.

• The one thing that can be said to apply across all ethical frameworks:

– An ethical action is one which the perpetrator can defined in terms of more than self interest. (Finlay 2000).

• Ethics pays. A well thought out, well implemented ethical corporate policy benefits both organizations and consumers/individuals in the long run.

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Agenda

1. A bit about ethics

2. Ethics, data and decision making

Ethics, data and decision making. Whose data is it anyway?

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Utilitarian orientated perspective

Kantian/Rights based perspectiveMy data is a

resource to be harvested and put

to use.

Constraints (laws) to prevent specific

abuses and misuse of my data.

My data is a part of who and what I

am. Its mine!

My data should be treated with respect, just as I expect to be treated with respect.

I will decide how data about me is used. You have no right to use my

data without my permission.

Better data & predictions =

better outcomes. Everyone benefits.

Ethics, data and decision making. Whose data is it anyway?

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Approach Pros Cons

Utilitarian orientated perspective

• More/better data means better decision making.

• More get the very best deals (if they warrant it).

• Social benefits. More data to support national / community initiatives (e.g. medical research and counterterrorism).

• Best for the economy.

• People less in control of their own destinies.

• Better predictions does not always equate to increased in well-being.

• The have-nots have even less.• Once the data is out there, its out

there for good.

Kantian/Rights based perspective

• Each individual has control over their data and the uses to which it is put.

• Less social exclusion..• Right change/withdraw

permission to use data, including “Right to be forgotten.”

• Poorer decisions for individuals may result, if data is withheld or otherwise unavailable.

• Lower economic benefits.• Society as a whole may suffer

because large scale studies are data limited. (e.g. medical research and counter terrorism).

Ethics, data and decision making. Is more data and better prediction always better?

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• More/better data leads to the promise of near perfect predictions in some areas. Is this a good thing?

• Sometimes:– Identify terrorist subjects with high degree of certainty– Predict that a heart attack is very likely in the next 24 hours– Long term compatibility on a dating site– …..

• But not always– Near perfect insurance claim predictions are no benefit to

anyone (except the insurer)– Do I want to know, years in advance, when I am likely to die?– …..

Ethics, data and decision making.Whose data is it anyway?

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What’s the direction of Travel?

USA, has to date, followed a more utility based model. Use data for whatever you want, but we will legislate where needed.

EU has taken a rights based approach, andlooks like it will continue to do so, via revised Data Protection Legislation approved in March.

Ethics, data and decision making.What data to use when?

• Age• Alcohol consumption• Credit history• Criminal records• Dependents• DNA• Driving speed• Education• Gas consumption• Gender• Grocery purchases at supermarket• Income

• Last book purchased• Live with smoker (Y/N)• Marital status• Medical history• Music currently listening too• Race• Religion• Sexual orientation• Smoker (Y/N)• Type of car you drive

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Ethics, data and decision making.1. Immutability of data?

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Immutable (Individual can’t change at all)

Mutable(Individual can change easily)

Age

Alcohol consumption

IncomeCriminal record

Gas consumption

Education

Gender

Grocery purchases

Last book purchased

Live with smoker

Marital status

Medical history

DependentsRace

ReligionMusic currentlyListening too

Sexual orientation

Smoker

Type of car

Driving speed

DNA

Ethics, data and decision making.2. Beneficiary?

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Individual / society Decision maker

Treatment for illness

Selection for taxinspection

Productmarketing

Benefit payment

ForeclosureMatch on dating site

Credit granting

Child protectionInsurance

pricing

For whose benefit is a decisions made ?(This is not the same thing as if the individual benefits from the decision)

Suspect selection in criminal cases

Makingjob offers

Redundancyselection

Home improvement grants

Parole

Survey selection

Ethics, data and decision making: 3. Impact

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What is the potential impact of decisions on an individual’s well being?

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Low Impact High Impact

Treatment for illness

Selection for taxinspection

Productmarketing

Benefit payment

ForeclosureMatch on dating site

Credit granting

Child protection

Insurance pricing

Suspect selection in criminal cases

Makingjob offers

Redundancyselection

Home improvement grants

Parole

Survey selection

Ethics, data and decision making. Risk in decision making

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1. Immutability of data

3. Impact on individual

2. Beneficiaryof decision

Decision maker

Individual

Immutable

Mutable

Low

High

You need to decide what’s most important within your ethical view (i.e. column order).

Impact of decision on individual

Beneficiary of the decision

Immutability of data used

Ethical challenge

/ risk

High Decision maker

High Greatest

Least

Low

Individual High

Low

Low Decision maker

High

Low

Individual High

Low

• More legislation• Audit & regulatory oversight• Public interest• Greater manual involvement• Simple and explicable models• Judgemental overriding• Expert “Buy-in”• Understand model weaknesses• Constant monitoring

• Less legislation• Predictive ability trumps all else• Complex “black box” models • Automated model generation• Rapid redevelopment of models• Little oversight

E.G, foreclosure, redundancy,

parole

E.G. Marketing type

applications

Ethics, data and decision making: Alternative perspective…

• Its nothing to do with the data or the decision maker…• Its how you make the decision that’s important…

– Impartial, data driven process = GOOD (Ethical)– Biased/judgemental decision = BAD (Unethical)

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Example: If women more likely to do X or Y than men (or vice versa), then its fine for Gender to feature in a predictive model, if that’s what the data is telling us.

However, this view is not popular, at least not in the UK or EU.

As evidenced by (fairly) recent decisions on the use of Gender in insurance, despite gender being one of the most predictive data items for all sorts of insurance claim behaviour.

In Summary

• Ethical data use and decision making brings its own rewards

• An ethical strategy is about more than just following the law.– Ethical and legal is where you want to be…

• Some things to consider when formulating an ethical data and decision making policy:– The immutability of the data that you use.

– The impact that your decisions will have on individuals.

– The beneficiaries of the decisions you make.

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Bibliography and further reading

• Boatright, J. (2014) Ethics in Finance (3rd Edition). Wiley

• Finlay, P. (2000). An introduction to Business and Corporate Strategy. Pearson Education.

• Finlay, S. (2014). Predictive Analytics, Data Mining and Big Data. Myths, Misconceptions and methods. Palgrave Macmillan.

• Orlitzky, M., Schmidt, F. L., Rynes, S. L. (2003). Corporate Social and Financial Performance: A Meta-analysis. Organization Studies, volume 24, number 3, pages 403-441.

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