Data profoundly influences all of our lives and the social, economic and political systems that govern them. Everywhere we turn we are creating increasing amounts of data that powers decision-making algorithms and shapes our future. It is however important to remember how partial and biased data can be given the privileged position it has in the perception of absolute truth. 

This event will discuss important questions around the role of data science in understanding and shaping the public interest, from access to information to civic participation and business development to democratic processes.

It will offer a framework for understanding the persistent role of data in rearranging power, with Chris Wiggins reflecting on the history and future of data drawing on his book How Data Happened. Alison Powell, author of Undoing Optimization, discussing the ethics and politics of data practices and Erin Young considering inclusion practices in data science and AI across the public and private sectors.

Meet our speakers and chair

Alison Powell is Associate Professor in Media and Communications at LSE and directs the MSc stream in Data & Society. Recent projects include the JUST AI Network which diversified data and AI research in the UK, and the book Undoing Optimization: Civic Action and Smart Cities, which argued for a new ethics of 'smart cities'. Alison’s current research investigates rights, ethics and value in public sector technology innovation, focusing on health systems.

Chris Wiggins (@chrishwiggins.bsky.social) is an associate professor of applied mathematics at Columbia University and the Chief Data Scientist at The New York Times. He is a co-founder and co-organizer of hackNY, a Fellow of the American Physical Society and is a recipient of Columbia's Avanessians Diversity Award.

Erin Young is Head of Innovation and Technology Policy at the Institute of Directors (IoD). Erin holds a DPhil from the University of Oxford in Science and Technology Studies, a BA from the University of Cambridge, and has held positions at Thomson Reuters, WPP, UNESCO and The Alan Turing Institute. Erin advises the Hg Foundation and sits on the Strategy Steering Board for the women pivoting to digital taskforce at The City of London Corporation.

Seeta Peña Gangadharan is Associate Professor in media and communications at LSE. Her work focuses on inclusion, exclusion, and marginalization, questions of democracy, social justice, and technological governance. She co-leads two projects: Our Data Bodies, which examines the impact of data collection and data-driven technologies on U.S. marginalized communities, and Justice, Equity, and Technology, which studies data-driven technologies and infrastructures in European civil society.

More about this event

Join us on campus or register to watch the event online at LSE Live. LSE Live is the home for our live streams, allowing you to tune in and join the global debate at LSE, wherever you are in the world. If you can't attend live, a video will be made available shortly afterwards on LSE's YouTube channel.

The Data Science Institute (@LSEDataScience) is an interdisciplinary institute established to foster the study of data science and new forms of data with a focus on their social, economic and political aspects.

The Department of Media and Communications (@MediaLSE) is a world-leading centre for education and research in communication and media studies at the heart of LSE’s academic community in central London. The Department is ranked #1 in the UK and #3 globally in the field of media and communications (2024 QS World University Rankings).

This event is co-hosted with the Algorithms at Work Project, led by PI Jeremias Adams-Prassl and housed at the Bonavero Institute of Human Rights, University of Oxford, supported with funds from the Philip Leverhulme Prize (award no. PLP-2020-400).

At LSE our researchers are using technology’s revolutionary power to understand our world better, looking at AI and technology’s potential to do good, and limiting its potential to do harm. Browse other upcoming events, short films, articles and blogs on AI, technology and society on our dedicated hub.

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Featured image (used in source code with watermark added): Photo by Google DeepMind via Pexels: https://www.pexels.com/photo/an-artist-s-illustration-of-artificial-intelligence-ai-this-image-represents-the-boundaries-set-in-place-to-secure-safe-accountable-biotechnology-it-was-created-by-artist-khyati-treha-17484901/.