Day III: Governing the transformation in the new Digital World

Day three of the EEAC Conference had the sub-titled, Governing the Transformation in the new Digital World. Alex Gutierez Margarit moderated a panel addressing the digital era and concerns about the absence of ethical considerations in existing business models. Simona Levi, Founder of XNET; Gemma Caldon Clavell, CEO of Eticas Consulting; and Anne Marie McGauren from the Irish National Economic and Social Council discussed their concerns about how currently digitalization and artificial intelligence are not only bringing about positive developments. They are enhancing discrimination against women, excluding the perspectives of minority groups, empowering a subset of actors, and being misused to promote particular interests. This occurs as a result of how algorithms are designed and with their use tend to reinforce patterns. They warned that more needs to be done to establish appropriate regulatory frameworks, establish privacy by design, and promote distributive democracy. Andrea Rodriguez, from the Global Cities Program, Barcelona Center for International Affairs discussed her work to integrate minimal ethical basics into European regulatory frameworks. These minimal ethical foundations include sustainability and participation as well as human rights and security. It matters who designs and controls applications, thus, inclusive participatory inputs are critical.