Your personal data is being used to fight COVID-19, but the data market needs transparency

Your personal data is being used to fight COVID-19, but the data market needs transparency

Personal data has become essential both to mitigate COVID-19 and to rescue our slowing economy. For example, Google is using its large trove of personal data to track the effectiveness of social distancing. Firms are also using personal data to supply us with goods and services from toilet paper to in-home meetings. Meanwhile, policymakers are using personal data to provide individuals with stimulus checks and unemployment insurance. Governmental bodies are also teaming up with data-sector firms to direct users to testing clinics, inform the public about COVD-19 disinformation or feed workers on the frontlines.

Recent Publications

Data Is Dangerous: Comparing the Risks That the United States, Canada and Germany See in Data Troves

Data Is Dangerous: Comparing the Risks That the United States, Canada and Germany See in Data Troves featured

From posting photos and videos to tracking physical activity, apps can do almost anything, but while they may seem like harmless fun, they may also pose a threat to personal data and national security. This paper compares the different responses of the United States, Canada and Germany to data risks posed by popular apps such as FaceApp, Facebook, Strava, TikTok and ToTok. These apps and many others store troves of personal data that can be hacked and misused, putting users (and the countries in which they live) at risk.

Recent Publications

Targeting TikTok, Grindr and FaceApp is not enough – the US needs to lay down the law on data privacy for tech firms

US intelligence and defense officials are increasingly concerned about foreign access to troves of personal data sets. This month, the US Treasury announced new regulations to limit foreign investment in companies that provide data-driven services. Policymakers fear some foreign firms might share that data with adversaries or use it in ways that threaten individuals and the nation.

Recent Publications

The Trump administration’s approach to Artificial Intelligence is not that smart: it’s about cooperation, not domination

The Trump administration’s approach to artificial intelligence is not that smart: it’s about cooperation, not domination

The White House hosted a summit on artificial intelligence last month, to discuss how the US government might use AI to improve its services. The US is not alone; many governments see AI as key to their future growth and development.

Recent Publications

The U.S. is missing its chance to be a global leader on Artificial Intelligence

The U.S. is missing its chance to be a global leader on artificial intelligence

On September 9, the White House hosted a Summit on Artificial Intelligence to discuss how the U.S. government might use AI to improve government services. The U.S. is not alone. Many governments, including China, India, Canada, and Germany see AI as key to their future growth and development.

Recent Publications

How Congress can rein in Trump’s trade tantrums

How Congress can rein in Trump's trade tantrums featured

The Trump administration’s labeling of China as a currency manipulator and its escalation of tariffs on Chinese products are reminders that the United States has transformed from the world’s leading advocate of rules-based trade agreements into a protectionist bully. Yet President Trump’s tariffs do nothing to improve the competitiveness of the firms he’s protecting. Moreover, they undermine trust in the United States as a reliable partner and could plunge many nations into recession..

Recent Publications

Data Is a Development Issue

Data Is a Development Issue Featured

Many wealthy states are transitioning to a new economy built on data. Individuals and firms in these states have expertise in using data to create new goods and services as well as in how to use data to solve complex problems. Other states may be rich in data but do not yet see their citizens’ personal data or their public data as an asset. Most states are learning how to govern and maintain trust in the data-driven economy; however, many developing countries are not well-positioned to govern data in a way that encourages development.

Recent Publications

A leader in profiting from data, America lags in protecting our information

A leader in profiting from data, America lags in protecting our information featured

The United States has a commanding lead in the data-driven economy, in which firms collect, analyze and monetize data to solve complex problems and create new goods and services. Many of the largest data-driven firms were created and are headquartered here, and U.S. companies are also at the forefront of new data-based services such as autonomous vehicles, personalized health care and personal assistants such as Siri and Alexa…

Recent Publications

America’s uneven approach to AI and its consequences

America’s uneven approach to AI and its consequences

The ecological balance of the ocean has been disturbed by invasive species and cholera. Many pesticides and nutrients used in agriculture end up in the coastal waters, resulting in oxygen depletion that kills marine plants and shellfish. Meanwhile the supply of fish is declining due to overfishing. Yet to flourish, humankind requires healthy oceans; the oceans generate half of the oxygen we breathe, and, at any given moment, they contain more than 97% of the world’s water. Oceans provide at least a sixth of the animal protein people eat. Living oceans absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and reduce climate change impacts.

Recent Publications

Data Minefield? How AI Is Prodding Governments to Rethink Trade in Data

DATA MINEFIELD? How AI Is Prodding Governments to Rethink Trade in Data

Many of the world’s leaders are focused on the opportunities presented by AI the machines, that, u systems or applications that can perform tasks

until recently, could only be performed by a human. In September 2017, Russian President Vladimir Putin told Russian schoolchildren, “Whoever becomes the leader in this sphere will become the ruler of the world (Putin quoted in RT.com 2017). Many countries, including Canada, China, the United States and EU member states, are competing to both lead the development of AI and dominate markets for AI.

Recent Publications