Ten days after the EU General Data Protection Regulation came into action, the SmallDataForum convened to provide initial assessments and perspectives. This episode's show notes were written by Thomas Stoeckle. Are we witnessing comedy or drama? Much ado about nothing or the end of the world as we know it? Clearly it is much too early to tell, and yet (of course) we found a lot to discuss, from varying levels of preparedness (not just on businesses’ side, but also among governments, … [Read more...] about SDF Podcast 19: Is GDPR much ado about nothing?
Politics
SDF Podcast 18: Inertia, ethics, and breaches of trust
Data, data everywhere, but ethics in short supply. The latest episode of the Small Data Forum podcast follows the classic narrative arc of a three-act story. Beginning, middle, and end. The set-up, the confrontation, and the resolution. Thesis, antithesis, synthesis. And although our wide-ranging discussion did run the risk of leaving all three co-hosts in the depths of despair, Neville Hobson, Thomas Stoeckle, and I end up hoping that the asteroid NASA predicts is hurtling towards earth … [Read more...] about SDF Podcast 18: Inertia, ethics, and breaches of trust
Exposing the realities of our relationships with Facebook and other social platforms
This week has been an extraordinary one, not only for Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg and members of the US Congress but also for users of Facebook and other social networking platforms wherever they are in the world. Indeed, it has been a week of revelation and food for considerable thought on a grand scale. During two days, on April 10 and April 11, the Facebook co-founder and CEO appeared before members of the US Senate and Congress to answer questions about Facebook and how it handles … [Read more...] about Exposing the realities of our relationships with Facebook and other social platforms
SDF Podcast 17 – “Falsehood flies, and truth comes limping after it”
The SmallDataForum convened in late March, and as for our big story, we had several candidates and angles on the same theme of the use and abuse of data. This episode's show notes were written by Thomas Stoeckle. Sam is now a newly published author of a book about how to tell powerful and purposeful stories with data, Narrative by Numbers. A very timely (and equally timeless) topic and title. A recently published study in Science about the velocity and spread of true and false news … [Read more...] about SDF Podcast 17 – “Falsehood flies, and truth comes limping after it”
SDF Podcast 15 – Reining in tech: responsibility, regulation and education
Our Christmas episode was recorded under the auspices of Janus, the god of all things related to time. Now into the month named after him, the SmallDataForum reviews its predictions and looks at the year ahead. Will Europe ‘take back control’, or will commercial pressures curb big tech's enthusiasm? Will 2018 be the breakthrough year for chatbots and DPAs (digital personal assistants), both in business and personal use? How will continuous technological and economic transformations affect … [Read more...] about SDF Podcast 15 – Reining in tech: responsibility, regulation and education