Data Ethics Club meeting 23-03-22, 1pm UK time#

Meeting info#

Description#

You’re welcome to join us for our next Data Ethics Club meeting on Wednesday 23rd March, 1pm UK time. You don’t need to register, just pop in. This time we’re going to watch/read The Tyranny of Structurelessness by Jo Freeman (a.k.a. Joreen), which is about the issues that come from structureless movements, organisations, groups. By not providing structure, those who already hold socio-political power become influencers. Others are left with limited understanding of how to push against decisions, or even how decisions are made. The piece is centered around the women’s liberation movement, but is widely applicable. You can read more about Jo Freeman and her work as a civil rights and policial activist here. Natalie suggested this week’s content - thank you!

Discussion points#

The discussion questions for this week are:

  • What did you think of this article? Did you recognise any of the structurelessness that Freeman described in settings that you are part of?

  • Who do we need to influence to make changes to the ethics of data science? Do we know how to make those changes?

  • In the paragraph that begins “Since movement groups have made no decisions about who shall exercise power within them
”, Freeman describes the ‘criteria for participation’ in the women’s liberation movement. Do you think there are similar criteria for participation in data science spheres? What about data ethics?

  • Bonus question: Is there anything Data Ethics Club could be doing differently that this article made you think about?