LINKS WE LIKE #44 Data Activism: Empowering Change through Insight “The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any” – Alice Walker In today’s digital age, data is everywhere. From social media posts and online transactions to government records and scientific research, data is generated and collected at an unprecedented rate. But beyond … Read More
LWL #43 A Whole New Ballgame: AI and Big Data in Sports
LINKS WE LIKE #43 A Whole New Ballgame: AI and Big Data in Sports Around the world, sports teams are always on the lookout for ways to improve their game and gain a competitive edge. Traditionally, coaches and players have relied on intuition, personal experience, and gut feelings to make decisions. However, with the increasing applications of big data and … Read More
LWL #42 From the Killing of Mahsa Amini to a Social Media Revolution: An Account of the Protests in Iran
LINKS WE LIKE #42 From the Killing of Mahsa Amini to a Social Media Revolution: An Account of the Protests in Iran “Woman, Life, and Freedom” Chant of Ongoing Protests in Iran On September 13, 2022, 22-year-old Mahsa Amini was arrested by Iran’s morality police for “improperly” wearing her hijab. Three days later, after being held captive in Vozara detention … Read More
Experiencia de Gaby Beatriz Quispe en el Taller Big Data y análisis de salud para el desarrollo sostenible
DATA LITERACY SERIES (Text in Spanish / English) Experiencia de Gaby Beatriz Quispe en el Taller Big Data y análisis de salud para el desarrollo sostenible Entrevistadora: Sara Ortiz Project & Communications Manager DPA Entrevistada: Gaby Beatriz Quispe Consultora y docente La Fundación de Waal En esta nueva “Serie de Alfabetismo de Datos” entrevistamos a participantes que han tomado nuestros … Read More
LWL #40 Engineering the Future? AI Laboratories Around the World
LINKS WE LIKE #40 Engineering the Future ? AI Laboratories Around the World It seems that we are witnessing significant progress in the development of AI systems and technologies almost daily. Behind the scenes, there are many dedicated organizations, laboratories, and research centers that are working arduously towards finding solutions to pressing issues. There are the well-known big tech giants, … Read More
LWL #39 The Data Police: How AI and Big Data are Reshaping Crime Prevention
LINKS WE LIKE #39 The Data Police: How AI and Big Data are Reshaping Crime Prevention Imagine being able to detect crime hotspots in your city, use facial recognition software to match camera footage from a robbery with a database of images, or even predict the likelihood of a crime (including time and location) before it occurs. While this might … Read More
LWL #38 Algorithmic Justice: The Next Civil Rights Frontier?
LINKS WE LIKE #38 Algorithmic Justice: The Next Civil Rights Frontier? “The first duty of society is justice” – Wendell Phillips When you think of “civil rights”, many things probably come to mind. Generations-long struggles for racial or gender equality and equal protection for other disenfranchised communities are most commonly associated with the phrase. What you do not think of, … Read More
LWL #37 The Future of Health? How Big Data and AI are Reshaping Modern Medicine
LINKS WE LIKE #37 The Future of Health? How Big Data and AI are Reshaping Modern Medicine Health care is one sector for which the massive amount of data produced daily holds great promise. Data from electronic health records, medical devices and health-related apps (and other sources) has grown so large that they exceed human capabilities for analysis. This is … Read More
LWL #36 Crisis Data: New Technology and Humanitarian Emergencies
LINKS WE LIKE #36 Crisis Data: New Technology in Humanitarian Emergencies Accurate data is pivotal to identifying and responding to the needs of those impacted by a variety of shocks, including violent conflicts, environmental disasters, epidemics, and other life-threatening emergencies. By gathering and processing personal, public, and geographic data, aid organizations, humanitarian workers and other relevant actors are able to … Read More
LWL#35 The Future of Financial Inclusion: How New Technologies are Reshaping FinTech
LINKS WE LIKE #35 The Future of Financial Inclusion: How New Technologies are Reshaping FinTech Financial inclusion, or access to formal financial services, (such as bank accounts, credit, and loans) is one of the most valuable tools for breaking cycles of poverty. Unfortunately, an estimated 1.7 billion people worldwide remain “unbanked”, or lacking access to these services; half of which … Read More
LWL #34 The Creative Arts and AI: The Ultimate Collaboration (or Competition?)
LINKS WE LIKE #34 The Creative Arts and AI: The Ultimate Collaboration (or Competition?) Repetitive, structured, and monotonous are adjectives often associated with Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML). Normally these tools are not linked with being creative, let alone with the creation of art. However, in recent years this perception has changed and, increasingly, artists are breaking barriers … Read More
Gender Data Series: How Can Data be Leveraged to Combat Sexual Harassment and Abuse in the Workplace?
GENDER DATA SERIES How Can Data be Leveraged to Combat Sexual Harassment in the Workplace? The “Gender Data Series” includes interviews, videos, and opinion articles with experts from around the globe. The goal of this project is to shed light on issues at the intersection of gender and data; such as health, migration, livelihoods, and gender-based violence (GBV). In the … Read More
LWL #32 Facebook, the Promise and the Peril
LINKS WE LIKE #32 Facebook, the Promise and the Peril When speaking about the purpose of his company, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has been quoted as saying, “By giving people the power to share, we’re making the world more transparent.” This leads to a very important question, is Facebook itself living up to this standard? According to a recent whistleblower, … Read More
LWL #31 Online Harassment and AI Content Moderation: Countering Threats to Freedom of Expression
LINKS WE LIKE #31 Online Harassment and AI Content Moderation: Countering Threats to Freedom of Expression The emergence and popularity of new social networks has opened space for a multitude of virtual interactions between people from diverse backgrounds. Consequently, the internet allows anyone to become a “communicator”, with access to a wide audience to share their views. With the virtual … Read More
LWL #30 AI and ML for People with Disabilities: Innovations and Challenges
LINKS WE LIKE #30 AI and ML for People with Disabilities: Innovations and Challenges One of the biggest opportunities that Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning technologies have opened up is the chance to design solutions that can positively impact the lives of people with disabilities. According to the World Health Organization, about 15% of the global population (1.2 Billion people) … Read More
LWL #29 Blockchain and its Application to Collective Challenges
LINKS WE LIKE #29 Blockchain and its Application to Collective Challenges Although it has most commonly been associated with cryptocurrency, since its release in 2008 with the white paper “Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System”, the blockchain system has been always praised for its potential to transform various sectors. Namely, blockchain can be used to address environmental challenges, enable e-voting, … Read More
LWL #28 Can Data and AI be Used as a Weapon to Fight Corruption?
LINKS WE LIKE #28 Can Data and AI be Used as a Weapon to Fight Corruption? Corruption is a major challenge for governments, companies, and societies all around the world. It is an expensive criminal and cultural practice. According to the UN, an estimated one trillion dollars are paid in bribes annually, while another 2.6 trillion are lost in corrupt activities … Read More
LWL #27 The Role of Big Data and AI in Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E)
LINKS WE LIKE #27 The Role of Big Data and AI in Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) One of the biggest promises of the “data age” is the creation of tools that will allow us to keep track and evaluate the performance of different projects and policies more efficiently. The main appeal of using Big data and AI for monitoring and … Read More
LWL #26 Open Source Licenses and Accessibility for AI Models
LINKS WE LIKE #26 Open Source Licenses and Accessibility for AI Models The rapid expansion of Artificial Intelligence (AI) models has been accompanied by growing efforts to make these technologies accessible and available to non-experts through what is referred to as open-source licenses. As a result of this “democratization of AI” more models and training data are becoming public, a process … Read More
8M: Reporte y registro de violencia doméstica en Bogotá, Ciudad de México y São Paulo
DISCUSSION PIECE 8M: Reporte y registro de violencia doméstica en Ciudad de México, Bogotá y São Paulo en el contexto de COVID-19 Sobre el Día Internacional de la Mujer (8M) Alrededor del mundo el Día Internacional de la Mujer se conmemora cada 8 de Marzo (también referido como 8M) con el objetivo de crear conciencia y alentar la reflexión crítica … Read More
LWL #25 Discrimination in Data and Artificial Intelligence
LINKS WE LIKE #25 Discrimination in Data and Artificial Intelligence In commemoration of the international Zero Discrimination Day, and following the call to action from the president of the United Nations General Assembly Volkan Bozkir to “call out discrimination when we see it and advocate for a more just world”, this edition of LWL looks at issues of discrimination in … Read More
LWL #24 Fighting Misinformation with Big Data and Artificial Intelligence
LINKS WE LIKE #24 Fighting Misinformation with Big Data and Artificial Intelligence We are currently living in the age of information and data. Whether it be through news outlets or social media, everyday we are bombarded with hundreds of images and headlines that come in the shape of articles, personal stories, memes or videos. In this busy landscape, “fake news” … Read More
LWL #23 Harnessing Big Data for Mobility and Migration
LINKS WE LIKE #23 Harnessing Big Data for Mobility and Migration In 2019, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) estimated that the number of migrants worldwide had reached 272 million, a figure that has tripled since 1970. Though most of these migrants fled their countries searching for better job opportunities, about 26 million people have been driven away from their … Read More
Violence Against Women in Latin America: The Multiple Facets of a Pervasive Issue
DISCUSSION PIECE Violence Against Women in Latin America: The Multiple Facets of a Pervasive Issue Photo: Analise Benevides. Edition: Paola Caile. November 25 marks the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, a date that serves as a global reminder of what it is now refered to as the “shadow pandemic” (UN Women, 2020). But how to tackle … Read More
LWL #22 Gender, Violence and Data
LINKS WE LIKE #22 Links We Like: Gender, Violence and Data In Latin America and the Caribbean, women have been commemorating the Elimination of Violence against Women Day ever since 1981, after the assassination of the three Dominican sisters Patricia, Minerva, Maria Teresa Mirabal. Yet, it only became officially recognized and adopted by all UN countries in 1999. Today, on … Read More
LWL #21 Elections, Democracy and Big Data
LINKS WE LIKE #21 Elections, Democracy and Big Data With the upcoming presidential election in the U.S., media outlets such as ABC News and The Economist, and even scholars like Alan L. Abramowitz, have searched for creative and insightful ways to use big data and data analysis as a way of better understanding the electorate and forecasting the results. In … Read More