Data Science in Context

Data science is the foundation of our modern world. It underlies applications used by billions of people every day, providing new tools, forms of entertainment, economic growth, and potential solutions to difficult, complex problems. These opportunities come with significant societal consequences, raising fundamental questions about issues such as data quality, fairness, privacy, and causation. In this book, four leading experts convey the excitement and promise of data science and examine the major challenges in gaining its benefits and mitigating its harms. They offer frameworks for critically evaluating the ingredients and the ethical considerations needed to apply data science productively, illustrated by extensive application examples. The authors' far-ranging exploration of these complex issues will stimulate data science practitioners and students, as well as humanists, social scientists, scientists, and policy makers, to study and debate how data science can be used more effectively and more ethically to better our world.

Introduction; Part I. Data Science: 1. Foundations of data science; 2. Data science is transdisciplinary; 3. A framework for ethical considerations; Recap of Part I ¿ Data Science; Part II. Applying Data Science: 4. Data science applications: six examples; 5. The analysis rubric; 6. Applying the analysis rubric; 7. A principlist approach to ethical considerations; Recap of Part II ¿ Transitioning from Examples and Learnings to Challenges; Part III. Challenges in Applying Data Science: 8. Tractable data; 9. Building and deploying models; 10. Dependability; 11. Understandability; 12. Setting the right objectives; 13. Toleration of failures; 14. Ethical, legal, and societal challenges; Recap of Part III ¿ Challenges in Applying Data Science; Part IV. Addressing Concerns: 15. Societal concerns; 16. Education and intelligent discourse; 17. Regulation; 18. Research and development; 19. Quality and ethical governance; Recap of Part IV ¿ Addressing Concerns: 20. Concluding thoughts; Appendix. Summary of recommendations from Part IV; About the authors; References; Index.