Magical thinking has so
suffused discussions on "big data" that O'Neil and Schutt's
textbook on data science starts with a section on "data science hype." That hype masks important public policy discussions, and encourges the release of data without a careful examination of its implications. Some governments have taken up the call and released "Open Data," datasets made available to the public for anyone to use for any purpose.
The Berkeley Center for Law & Technology and Microsoft
have issued a request for proposals (RFP) to fund scholarly inquiry to examine the civil rights, human rights, security and privacy issues that arise from Open Data. This RFP seeks to:
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Gain knowledge of the impact of the online release of large amounts of data generated by citizens' interactions with government
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Imagine new possibilities for technical, legal, and regulatory interventions that avoid abuse
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Begin building a body of research that addresses these issues
For more information or to submit a proposal, see
https://www.law.berkeley.edu/bcltopendata.htm.