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Practicing Responsibility
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A Data Scientist has the role of protecting personal privacy while still providing
valuable patterns in the data for public good and company benefit. Research shows that for
society to be effective, there is a need for more data analysis helping to identify ways to solve
social issues quickly (El Emam et al., 2020). However, more data sharing raises many
privacy issues that the public feels should be regulated by law to protect their data privacy.
People feel unsafe sharing too much data because there is a risk of data breaches that put an
individual at risk of identity theft. They fear corporations are misusing and selling consumers'
information to other corporations for their benefit. More data will help in the rapid
development of solutions to social issues; an example is a Covid-19 pandemic.
Access to more data, the Covid-19 vaccine was developed quickly, helping to save
many people's lives (Deming, 2021). Data scientists should consider individuals' consent
when using data to ensure they do not go against the individual's wish on how they would
like their data to be used. Data scientists have a role in determining when access to more data
will bring social benefits to the public and when more data access can infringe on the public's
privacy and not have any social benefits (Deming, 2021). A data scientist has a role in
balancing privacy concerns with social benefits, ensuring that individuals' privacy is upheld
at all times. "The Lord detests dishonest scales, but accurate weights find favor with him"
(New International Version, 2011, Mat. 7:12) This verse shows that God disapproves of
dishonesty and favors those who act rightly towards others.
This verse shows a data scientist is responsible for rightly protecting people's privacy
against a stated goal. However, this shows that if one is using the data for the good of the
public, then it is right, and God will favor the individual. "So in everything, do to others what
you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets" (New
International Version, 2011, Prov.11:1). This verse shows that one should do things that they
would like others to do to them. Data scientists should be guided by the actions they would
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like to be done to them if they were on the other side. No one would like their data stolen by
hackers for identity theft or for a company to send their data without their consent for the
company's profitability. This should guide data scientists' decisions when determining when
to rightly protect people and their data for a stated purpose.
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References
Deming, D. (2021, February 19). Balancing Privacy With Data Sharing for the Public Good.
The New York Times. Retrieved from
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/19/business/privacy-open-data-public.html
El Emam, K., Mosquera, L., & Hoptroff, R. (2020). Practical synthetic data generation:
balancing privacy and the broad availability of data. O'Reilly Media.
New International Version. (2011). Bible Gateway.
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mathew+7%3A12&version=NIV
New International Version. (2011). Bible Gateway.
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=proverbs+11%3A1&version=NIV
