Editor’s note: Ivana Bartoletti, a privacy and digital ethics expert, public speaker, author, and media commentator, will deliver a keynote address at ISACA’s Privacy In Practice virtual conference, to take place 8 December. Bartoletti recently visited with ISACA Now to share her perspective on major trends in privacy, digital ethics, AI and more. The following is a transcript of the conversation:
ISACA Now: What prompted your deep interest in privacy and digital ethics?
I am passionate about technology. I really like to imagine what is possible, from helping vulnerable customers in finance to detecting breast cancer before it is too late. But I am also passionate about equality, and my interest in privacy and digital ethics stems from the desire to see technology working for everyone. Sadly, the digital benefits are still too unequally distributed, and personal data is becoming a currency as well as a way to control people rather than a great asset to make our world better.
ISACA Now: GDPR changed the privacy game for many organizations. What do you think will be the next seismic shift on the privacy landscape?
GDPR set the standards at a global level. This is very positive thing in my view. To an extent, it is the so-called Brussels effect, which is about both preserving human rights and enhancing global competitiveness. Privacy is now changing as a concept. Initially, it was very much about anonymity, the right to be left alone. It is now much wider, and it encompasses personal autonomy and freedom from manipulation. This is because algorithms have an increasingly greater role in our society. They edit, construct, and select what we are exposed to. To an extent, we could say that they construct the reality we see as we browse the internet or, through predictive analytics, they construct the relationship between the past, the present and the future. I do not think privacy, competition and consumer law can continue to act in silos to tackle the complexities of the digital ecosystem. So, I think the next seismic shift will be around a more coordinated approach across these disciplines to deal with the data market and its governance. I also think a key issue now is around how data protection seems to be merging with digital protectionism – an issue we are seeing becoming very prominent in the wider digital trade context.
ISACA Now: You were co-editor of The AI Book from the Fintech Circle on how AI is reshaping financial services. Which aspects of that topic do you find most intriguing?
I think AI can bring enormous benefits on two levels: first, increasing access to finance for many people. This is because of both the wider use of peer-to-peer platforms and the use of automated advisors to close the advisory gap. Second, I think AI can help reduce operational costs, thus allowing more financial outlets to operate. I am very focused on vulnerability, as I think AI can seriously help there.
ISACA Now: What are your major privacy concerns related to some of the ways in which AI is and will be used?
AI is about power, and with power comes responsibilities. I am concerned that a lot of organizations do not fully embrace the complexity of AI and the consequences it brings along. For example, AI has enormous power to scale up existing inequalities by hardwiring them into the product. I also worry about techno-chauvinism, and that is the idea that an AI-driven solution can be a silver bullet to address issues that need political answers.
ISACA Now: What will it take for more companies to be mindful of digital ethics?
I think consumers are waking up to the politics and geopolitics of data. Consumers are wary about how their data is used and how ethically a product has been produced. We need to look at a technological artefact in the very same way we do in the fair trade ecosystem. Which data have been used? Where has the product been made? Is it fair? Does it discriminate? It is only a matter of time; I think we will get there. Companies that are able to be transparent about their tech products will increasingly have a clear competitive edge.