CoreNet NYC: Plugged In: Big Data & Its Impact on Public Policy

As part of their Plugged In series, CoreNet NYC recently hosted “Big Data & Its Impact on Public Policy”. The event, moderated by Karp Strategies Director Ali Sutherland-Brown, featured guest speaker Sarah Williams, Associate Professor of Technology and Urban Planning at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) discussing her new book Data Action: Using Data for Public Good. From methodologies of scraping social media to analyze ghost cities in China and their potential applications in other contexts to the useful role of qualitative data and local knowledge, Sarah shows how big data can be used for good when applied in ethical and responsible ways. The event ended with seven Data Action Principles: (1) Do No Harm, (2) Build Teams, (3) Change Power Dynamics, (4) Expose Hidden Systems, (5) Ground-Truth, (6) Share Data, and ending with (7) Creating Your Ethical Standards while remembering data are people.