IEEE Highlights Range of Work Reflecting Principles of Data Privacy Day

PISCATAWAY, NJ, 25 January 2018 – IEEE, the world’s largest technical professional organization dedicated to advancing technology for humanity, and the IEEE Standards Association (IEEE SA), today showcased a collection of work that reflects the principles of Data Privacy Day, 28 January. According to the U.S. National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA), “Data Privacy Day is an international effort to empower individuals and encourage businesses to respect privacy, safeguard data and enable trust.” ¹

“The goals of Data Privacy Day are at the core of what IEEE stands for,” said Konstantinos Karachalios, managing director, IEEE SA. “We have multiple, varied activities in the areas of data agency, digital literacy and privacy that are all designed to enhance the dignity and security of people in the global infosphere. When anyone connects to the internet anywhere for any reason, it should happen in such a way that the individual’s privacy and security are safeguarded and freedom is protected. IEEE is working toward this vision on multiple fronts.”

For example, IEEE work in the spirit of Data Privacy Day includes a host of globally open collaborative programs:

• IEEE SA Digital Inclusion Through Trust and Agency Industry Connections Program—This activity brings together technologists, academics and industry executives to build consensus and develop a framework for solutions facilitating digital inclusion, trust, personal data agency and security for all members of the global community.
• IEEE SA Digital Literacy Industry Connections Program—The open-source effort, which developed out of the IEEE Internet Initiative’s Internet Inclusion: Advancing Solutions series of multi-stakeholder workshops, is designed to expand possibilities for people around the world to develop the skills and behaviors (such as strong digital-hygiene practices) necessary to realize the potential of digital technologies.
• The IEEE Global Initiative for Ethical Considerations in Artificial Intelligence and Autonomous Systems—The mission of the IEEE Global Initiative on Ethics of Autonomous and Intelligent Systems is to ensure that every technologist is educated, trained and empowered to prioritize ethical considerations in the design and development of autonomous and intelligent systems. In 2017, it released Version 2 of its pioneering document, Ethically Aligned Design: A Vision for Prioritizing Human Well-being with Autonomous and Intelligent Systems (A/IS).

IEEE also is developing a range of standards that are in keeping with the goals of Data Privacy Day:

• IEEE P7003™, Draft IEEE Standard for Algorithmic Bias Considerations—IEEE P7003 is designed to provide individuals or organizations creating algorithms (mostly for autonomous or intelligent systems) with certification-oriented methodologies to provide clearly articulated accountability and clarity around how users are targeted, assessed and influenced.
• IEEE P7004™, Draft IEEE Standard for Child and Student Data Governance—IEEE P7004 is designed to provide organizations handling child and student data with governance-oriented processes and certifications guaranteeing the transparency and accountability of their actions as they relate to safety and wellbeing.
• IEEE P7005™, Draft IEEE Standard for Transparent Employer Data Governance—IEEE P7005 is designed to provide organizations with a set of clear guidelines and certifications guaranteeing they are storing, protecting and utilizing employee data in an ethical and transparent way.

IEEE is at work beyond the bounds of its own organization in support of the principles on which Data Privacy Day is predicated. For example, several sessions in the IEEE Tech for Humanity series at South by Southwest, 9-18 March 2018 in Austin, Texas, are to address data-privacy issues:

• “Regenerative Medicine: Creating a Life Saving Industry”
• “A Hearable Future: Sound and Sensory Interface”
• “Clinical VR: Therapy with Potential & Power”
• “Extreme Bionics: The Future of Human Ability”
• “Binding Emotion & Memory: Science, Story & Scent”
• “Body Computing, Security & Human Safety”
• “Full Body Immersive: The Future of Fun”
• “A Game-Changing Shift in Control of Personal Data”
• “Can We Create Consciousness in a Machine?”
• “A Roboticist, Ethicist, & Novelist Walk Into a Bar”
• “Algorithms, Unconscious Bias, & AI”

In addition, the IEEE SA sponsored WAMI ‘18—the Wearables & Medical Interoperability Workshop—on 17 January 2018 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Medical executives, sensor developers, engineers, regulators and those working in key emerging areas such as blockchain and data standardization explored the promise and challenges surrounding the interoperability of wearable device data and other health data.

¹ Retrieved 11 January 2018 from Data Privacy Day

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IEEE Standards Association (IEEE SA) is a collaborative organization where innovators raise the world’s standards for technology. IEEE SA provides a globally open, consensus-building environment and platform that empowers people to work together in the development of leading-edge, market-relevant technology standards, and industry solutions shaping a better, safer and sustainable world. For more information, visit https://standards-qa21.ieee.org.

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