Using Data Responsibly

Better Data for Doing Good: Responsible Use of Big Data and Artificial Intelligence

Introduction

The data universe is ever expanding, as chapter 2 illustrates. In fact, it is estimated to double in size every two years with some 2.5 quintillion bytes of information being generated daily. Because we increasingly use digital devices to communicate, buy and sell goods, transfer money, search for information on the internet, and share our lives on social networks, we leave digital trails or "digital exhaust". A growing amount of digital data is thus being generated as a by-product of our daily lives, but also through the increasing digitization of content and the spread of the Internet of Things. This growing volume of data is driving the development of big data analytics and artificial intelligence (AI), the subjects of this chapter. The chapter describes opportunities for harnessing the value of big data and AI for social good, and how new families of AI algorithms now make it possible to obtain actionable insights automatically and at scale. Beyond internet business or commercial applications, multiple examples already exist of how big data and AI can help us achieve our shared development objectives, such as the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). But ethical frameworks need to be developed in line with increased uptake of these new technologies – any discussion of ethics is not limited to the privacy of the data, but also relates to the impact and consequences of using data and algorithms – or failing to use them.

Source: World Bank, https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/30437
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