About The Series

The CIVICA Data Science Seminar series is a unique multi-disciplinary series focused on applications and methodologies of data science for the social, political, and economic world.

Session 4 Fall 2024 Details

Data is the foundation of any scientific, industrial or commercial process and yet, despite its importance, it is susceptible to undue disclosures, leaks, losses, manipulation, or fabrication. While best practice and regulations guide data management and protection, academic research and commercial data handling have recently been marred by scandals, revealing the brittleness of data management. These incidents often occur without visibility or accountability, highlighting the urgent need for a systematic structure for safe, honest, and auditable data management.

In a recent paper, Florian and others introduced the concept of “Honest Computing” as the practice and approach that emphasises transparency, integrity, and ethical behaviour within the realm of computing and technology. Honest Computing ensures that computer systems and software operate honestly and reliably without hidden agendas, biases, or unethical practices. It enables privacy and confidentiality of data and code by design and by default. The paper also introduces a reference framework to achieve demonstrable data lineage and provenance, contrasting it with Secure Computing, a related but differently-orientated form of computing.

Honest Computing opens new ways of creating technology-based processes and workflows which permit the migration of regulatory frameworks for data protection from principle-based approaches to rule-based ones. Addressing use cases in many fields, from AI model protection and ethical layering to digital currency formation for finance and banking, trading, and healthcare, this foundational layer approach can help define new standards for appropriate data custody and processing.

Seminar Speaker

Agenda