Case Studies – Project Sherpa

Ethics of Using Smart City AI and Big Data: The Case of Four Large European Cities

In 2015, the UN General Assembly established 17 key sustainable development goals to aim towards by the year 2030. These range from eliminating poverty, to providing universal education, gender equality, and climate action. Goal 11 strives towards achieving sustainable cities and communities because the population living in cities will increase by an additional 1.5 billion people by 2030 (totalling 5 billion), which is set to place a strain on resources, infrastructure, jobs, and healthcare (United Nations 2018). The UN has established that we need to implement creative approaches to handle these changes. There is a need to reduce ecological harm, pollution, and injustice on the one hand; while increasing safe and affordable housing, improving infrastructure, and providing safe cities for people to live in (United Nations 2018). As a result, a number of approaches have been proposed to ensure sustainable cities, such as the ‘smart city’ concept.

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June 17, 2019

Case Studies / Predictive Risk Intelligence

Ethical Implications of Predictive Risk Intelligence

The use of predictive risk intelligence through the combination of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Big Data is reaching new horizons, alternatively known as smart information systems (SIS). SIS are widely used to provide intelligence in many areas predicting risk, such as supply chain management (SCM) (Bendoly, 2016), sustainability (Kant & Sangwan, 2015), medicine (Williams et al., 2018), finance (Xia, Liu, & Chen, 2013) and insurance (Baecke & Bocca, 2017). All these approaches involve the use of advanced machine learning techniques that integrate data to deliver predictions of risks affecting the critical elements of enterprises and communities.

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June 17, 2019

Case Studies / Internet of Things

The Internet of Things and Ethics

“The Internet of Things is … the latest, most hyped concept in the IT world” (Madakam, Ramaswamy, Tripathi 2015). It is “An open and comprehensive network of intelligent objects that have the capacity to auto-organize, share information, data and resources, reacting and acting in face of situations and changes in the environment” (ibid.)

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June 17, 2019

Case Studies / Human Brain Research

Ethical Reflections of Human Brain Research and Smart Information Systems

This case study explores ethical issues that relate to the use of Smart Information Systems (SIS) in human brain research. The case study is based on the Human Brain Project (HBP), which is a European Union funded project. The project uses SIS to build a research infrastructure aimed at the advancement of neuroscience, medicine and computing. The case study was conducted to assess how the HBP recognises and deal with ethical concerns relating to the use of SIS in human brain research. To understand some of the ethical implications of using SIS in human brain research, data was collected through a document review and three semi-structured interviews with participants from the HBP. Results from the case study indicate that the main ethical concerns with the use of SIS in human brain research include privacy and confidentiality, the security of personal data, discrimination that arises from bias and access to the SIS and their outcomes. Furthermore, there is an issue with the transparency of the processes that are involved in human brain research. In response to these issues, the HBP has put in place differ-ent mechanisms to ensure responsible research and innovation through a dedicated program. The paper provides lessons for the responsible implementation of SIS in re-search, including human brain research and extends some of the mechanisms that could be employed by researchers and developers of SIS for research in addressing such issues.

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June 17, 2019

Case Studies / Customer Relations Strategy (CRS)

Customer Relation Management, Smart Information Systems and Ethics

Customer relationship management (CRM) deals with the processes and systems that support business strategies to build long-term and profitable relations with customers (Ngai et al. 2009). The rapid development of the digital world has changed marketing models by transforming CRM practices and relationships between customers and companies. Easier access to customers’ online data (through social networks, search engine history, or through the creation of cookies and other tracking systems) allow companies to gather a huge variety of information about customers. Such access also allows companies to create cloud systems which gather and compile the data , and strategize and automate CRM practices.

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June 17, 2019

Case Studies / Smart Grids

Smart Grids and Ethics

This case study explores the principal ethical issues that occur in the use of Smart Information Systems (SIS) in smart grids and offers suggestions as to how they might be addressed. Key issues highlighted in the literature are reviewed. The empirical case study describesone of the largest distribution system operators (DSOs) in the Netherlands . The aim of this case study is to identify which ethical issues arise from the use of SIS in smart grids, the current efforts ofthe organisation to address them, and whether practitioners are facing additional issues not addressed in current literature. The literature review highlights mainly ethical issues around health and safety, privacy and informed consent, cyber-risks and energy security, affordability and equity, sustainability. The key topics raised by interviewees revolved around privacy and to some extent cybersecurity. This may be due to the prevalence of the issue within the sector and the company in particular or due to the positions held by interviewees in the organisation. Issues of sectorial dynamics and public trust, codes of conduct and regulation were raised in the interviewswhich are not discussed in the literature. The paper hence highlights the ability of case studies to identify ethical issues not covered (or covered to an inadequate degree) in the academic literature which are facing practitioners in the energy sector.

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May 13, 2019

Case Studies / Insurance

Insurance, Smart Information Systems and Ethics

This report provides an overview of the current implementation of SIS in the insurance industry, also identifies the positive and negative aspects of using SIS in the insurance industry, including ethical issues which could arise while using SIS in this area. Two companies working in the industry of health insurance are analysed in this report: a German health insurance company (Organisation Y), and a business intelligence centre for healthcare insurers (Organisation X). Further specific ethical issues that arise when using SIS technologies in Organisation Y and Organisation X are critically evaluated. Finally, conclusions are drawn on the case study and areas for improvement are suggested.

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May 8, 2019

Case Studies / Cybersecurity

Smart Information Systems in Cybersecurity

This report provides an overview of the current implementation of SIS in the field of cybersecurity. It also identifies the positive and negative aspects of using SIS in cybersecurity, including ethical issues which could arise while using SIS in this area. One company working in the industry of telecommunications (Company A) is analysed in this report. Further specific ethical issues that arise when using SIS technologies in Company A are critically evaluated. Finally, conclusions are drawn on the case study and areas for improvement are suggested.

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April 30, 2019

Case Studies / Public Use of AI

Ethics of Public Use of AI and Big Data

In 2050, 70% of the world’s population will live in cities by 2050 accounting for 80% of the world’s CO2 emissions (Nigon et al. 2016). 80% of Europe’s population will live in cities by 2020 (Albino, Berardi, and Dangelico 2015).

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February 4, 2019

Agriculture / Case Studies

Agricultural SIS and Ethics: A Case Study

Approximately 26.5% of the world’s population work in agriculture, which accounts for nearly $3 trillion in global trade (The World Bank 2018). Despite this, it is an industry that needs to grow its production levels by 70%to feed the world’s growing population by 2050 (Schönfeld, Heil and Bittner 2016; Kamilaris, Kartakoullis, and Prenafeta-Boldú 2017). In addition, our current ecological footprint is twice the level that it should be; leaving the agricultural sector with the colossal challenge of producing more food, while reducing their ecological impact (Popa 2011; Wolfert, Sørensen, and Goense 2014).

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December 17, 2018