Towards a Human-Centred Approach to Data Extraction

Authors

  • Edmund Terem Ugar Department of Philosophy and Centre for the Philosophy of Medicine, Public Health, and Epidemiology, University of Johannesburg and Durham University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.26116/techreg.2024.004

Keywords:

Datafication, Relational Moral Theory, Data Colonialism, Surveillance Capitalism, Data Justice

Abstract

Ethical principles, such as privacy, autonomy, and human rights, have been published to govern ethical data extraction and mining. These principles aim to protect individuals from unlawful data extraction for research, development, and other purposes. While these principles are necessary to protect individuals against unlawful data extraction and mining, I argue that they do not, in practice, provide solid foundations for a human-centred approach to data extraction, given the exponential growth of surveillance capitalism and data colonialism. I contend that it is best to reorient data-driven corporations to approach data extraction from a human-centred perspective, guided by collectivist principles, such as care, human dignity, and beneficence, which I develop from Ubuntu-centred African relational moral theory. I show how these principles can contest current principles, such as respect for autonomy, privacy, and human rights, to guide a human-centred approach to data extraction.

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TechReg special issue on Data, Law and Decolonisation front cover: Towards a Human-Centred Approach to Data Extraction

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Published

18-03-2024

Issue

Section

Special Issue: Data, Law and Decolonisation

How to Cite

Ugar, E. T. (2024). Towards a Human-Centred Approach to Data Extraction. Technology and Regulation, 2024, 28-36. https://doi.org/10.26116/techreg.2024.004