Events

GovLab Ideas Lunch with Mark Latonero: Data-Driven Tensions in Human Rights

Academic
 
For NYU Community

Data-Driven Tensions in Human Rights
The application of data-driven tools and technologies to address human rights issues is gaining traction. Collecting and analyzing data from various digital sources offers promising methods for monitoring or intervening in instances of abuse, exploitation, or victimization. Yet practitioners, researchers, and policymakers face unique challenges and opportunities when assessing technological benefit, risk, and harm. How can these technologies be used responsibly to assist people in need, prevent abuse, and protect from harm? A number of challenges and anxieties emerge around such questions – from surveillance and privacy to data biases and accountability. Addressing these concerns are crucial as data-driven techniques become the basis for decision making at the policy and operational levels. Using the case of big data and human trafficking as an example, this presentation will discuss the tensions that arise around data-driven interventions in human rights domains. 
 

About Mark
Mark Latonero a professor and researcher interested in technology and social change. Mark is interested in examining the risks and benefits of applying data-centric approaches to human rights and human security issues involving vulnerable populations. A primary area of investigation involves tech and data driven approaches to address human trafficking.

Mark is a Fellow at the Data & Society Research Institute in New York as well as the research director at the Annenberg Center on Communication Leadership & Policy, and a research professor at the USC Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism. He completed his PhD at the USC Annenberg School and was a postdoctoral research scholar at the London School of Economics.