Geo-data ethics beyond the data. towards sustainable geodata ecosystems

Description

Invited lecture as part of the GIB Lecture Series at the Bayreuth Institute of Geography, University of Bayreuth. Germany

Abstract:
If some say that data is the new oil, then spatio-temporal data is the new palladium. It is extremely valuable and increasingly crucial for how our social life is structured and made possible. The analogy obviously does not work that well. While palladium is a rare metal – spatio-temporal data is produced and mined in abundance. For spatial analysts, including geographers, this new abundance of spatio-temporal data has led to a rush in finding different applications for this data. Those concerned with the ethics of new data sources and geodata technologies have focussed primarily on how the data and its characteristics may harm individuals and groups. This talk will focus on the ethics of spatio-temporal data beyond the data. I will discuss how broader data and technology ethics concerns link in specific ways to the use of spatio-temporal data. With the talk, I make a case for a more proactive and continuous re-visibilising of geo-spatial data infrastructures – the infrastructures needed to make big-data geo-analysis possible. I contend that doing so is crucial if we want to work within ethically sustainable geodata ecosystems.

Period	31 May 2022
Held at	University of Bayreuth, Bayerisches Geoinstitut, Germany