About Us
The increasing reliance on and importance of data in our everyday lives raises numerous ethical concerns, from the individual to the global level. From questions of privacy to issues of data access, data feudalism, data sovereignty, or confidence in data, the constantly evolving data space poses a range of questions that require broad, open, and inclusive discussions.
The Ethical Data Initiative is jointly coordinated by the University of Exeter and the TUM Think Tank. We are a non-partisan platform fostering open discussions on data ethics, informed significantly by philosophical, historical, and social studies of science, with a focus on equity and engagement across different domains of data work for public interest.
The initiative is built on policy and networking, education, and engagement to bring together experiences, foster discussions, and integrate data ethics into the routine practices of various disciplines and sectors. Our efforts prioritise education as a means of promoting an active ethical approach to all aspects of data work. We build on extensive experience in teaching and researching responsible data work in partnership with a wide network of collaborators around the globe.
Academic contributors span diverse fields ranging from history and philosophy to law, data science, AI ethics, public policy, and technical education, highlighting the interdisciplinary nature of the EDI. Non-academic contributors include public administration, small and medium enterprises, regional/national/transnational organisations, and other social groups invested in ethical data work.
To realise its mission, the EDI will develop a global network of hubs that will enable us to:
Through these three pillars we aim to build data confidence and responsible data use across civil society, science and industry, and government; increase equality and inclusivity in the data space; and empower the digital citizens of tomorrow.
