Hybrid: in-person at the TUM Think Tank and online
Tuesday 1 April 2025
14:00 to 15:30 am CEST (Paris/Munich Time) / 12:00 to 13:30 UTC
Registration link via Zoom
The Ethical Data Initiative (EDI) & Committee on Data of the International Science Council (CODATA) Global Forum Session on Digital ethics on the cutting edge of science, education, and society brings together international experts to examine critical ethical challenges at the intersection of data, artificial intelligence, and governance. Held in hybrid format in conjunction with the EDI Town Hall at the TUM Think Tank, the session explores key data ethics topics, including AI and human rights, data systems for crisis response, data visitation, genomic informatics, sentient AI, and ethics in research assessment. Grounded in the EDI’s three core pillars – policy and networks, international data ethics education, and stakeholder engagement – the forum highlights the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration, robust policy frameworks, and innovative educational approaches to support ethical and human-centred digital transformation.
This forum is part of the wider EDI Town Hall Meeting (hybrid) on Shaping the future of data ethics: creating a global hub for data ethics and related education and policy activities, Monday 31 March 2025 at the Technical University of Munich. The Town Hall convenes researchers, educators, policymakers, and data practitioners to reflect on ethical data use in crises, reforming research assessment, and advancing data solidarity. Through its International Data Policy Committee (IDPC) and Data Ethics Task Group (DETG), CODATA contributes its expertise in developing values-driven and reliable data policy through global dialogue and collaboration. Together, EDI and CODATA work to strengthen ethical data practices by fostering frameworks linking science, education, and society.
Agenda
| Time | Topic | Speaker |
| 14:00 CEST |
Welcome and introduction to the forum session |
Francis P. Crawley Chair, CODATA IDPC Leuven, Belgium |
| 14:05 | Summary of the core challenges to data ethics from the EDI Town Hall The EDI’s three pillars developed through its past and future activities · policy and networks, · international data ethics education, and · stakeholder and community engagement. |
Suchith Anand Ethical Data Initiative (EDI) CODATA EDTG Professor of Practice in Science Policy University of Exeter, United Kingdom |
| 14:15 | Human rights, ethics, and data visitation: challenges and solutions to data sharing | Natalie Meyers DV4RDA: Developing an advanced and secure environment for data visitation across the RDA EOSC-Future/RDA AIDV-WG Professor of Practice Lucy Family Institute for Data & Society ARL/CNI AI Researcher in Residence University of Notre Dame Indiana, United States |
| 14:20 | The challenges data and AI presents to human rights | Alexander Kriebitz Scientific Coordinator Munich Convention on AI, Data, and Human Rights Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich Germany |
| 14:25 | Ethical challenges in developing data systems for crisis policies and crisis management | Lili Zhang Co-chair, CODATA IDPC Global Open Science Cloud Computer Network Information Center (CNIC) Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) Beijing, China |
| 14:30 | Forum discussion How can the EDI’s three pillars be mobilised to ensure that emerging digital technologies promote values, ethics, and human rights? |
Sabina Leonelli Ethical Data Initiative CODATA EDTG Professor, Department of Science, Technology and Society Technical University of Munich (TUM) Germany |
| 14:40 | Ethical data sharing and open science across Africa | Francis Agamah Data Science for Health in Africa (DS-I Africa) University of Cape Town, South Africa |
| 14:45 | Data ethics and sentient AI | Perihan Elif Ekmekçi Co-chair, CODATA IDPC MD, PhD, Professor, Head of the History of Medicine and Ethics Department; Deputy Dean TOBB University Medical Faculty Head of the International Chair in Bioethics/WMA Cooperation Center Ankara, Türkiye |
| 14:50 | The role of data policy and ethics in research assessment | Francis P. Crawley Co-chair & Coordinator CoARA-ERIP Leuven, Belgium |
| 15:55 | Forum discussion
Mapping today’s forum discussion onto EDI’s three pillars |
Sabina Leonelli Ethical Data Initiative CODATA EDTG Professor, Department of Science, Technology and Society Technical University of Munich (TUM) Germany |
| 15:20 | Looking forward to EDI’s future collaborations | Kathryn Bailey Ethical Data Initiative Professor of Practice in Research Governance and Partnerships University of Exeter, United Kingdom |
| 15:30 CEST |
Close of the forum session | Francis P. Crawley Chair, CODATA IDPC Leuven, Belgium |