Data, Society, and Responsibility

An Introduction to Governance, Privacy, and Ethics in the AI Era

Complete Table of Contents

Front Matter

  • Title Page
  • Preface
  • Acknowledgments
  • How to Use This Book
  • Prerequisites

Part 1: Foundations — Data, Power, and the Digital Self

Chapter Title Key Topics
1 The Data All Around Us Data types, data lifecycle, datafication of daily life, quantified self, data as resource
2 A Brief History of Data and Society Census history, statistics and state power, computing revolution, internet era, Big Data, AI era
3 Who Owns Your Data? Property theories, intellectual property, data as labor, data trusts, indigenous data sovereignty
4 The Attention Economy Platform business models, engagement optimization, dark patterns, behavioral surplus, digital wellbeing
5 Power, Knowledge, and Data Foucault and power/knowledge, data asymmetries, corporate power, state power, resistance
6 Ethical Frameworks for the Data Age Utilitarianism, deontology, virtue ethics, care ethics, justice theory, applied to data

Part 2: Privacy in the Digital Age

Chapter Title Key Topics Python?
7 What Is Privacy? Definitions and Debates Warren & Brandeis, Westin, Nissenbaum, contextual integrity, informational self-determination
8 Surveillance: From Panopticon to Platform Bentham, Foucault, digital panopticon, surveillance capitalism, dataveillance, sousveillance
9 Data Collection and Consent Notice and consent, informed consent, consent fatigue, dark patterns, alternatives to consent
10 Privacy by Design and Data Minimization Cavoukian's 7 principles, k-anonymity, differential privacy, data minimization, PETs Yes
11 The Economics of Privacy Privacy as externality, data markets, cost of breaches, privacy paradox, economic modeling
12 Health Data, Genetic Data, and Biometric Privacy HIPAA, genetic discrimination, DTC genomics, facial recognition, biometric databases

Part 3: Algorithmic Systems and AI Ethics

Chapter Title Key Topics Python?
13 How Algorithms Shape Society Algorithmic decision-making, recommendation systems, content moderation, sorting and filtering
14 Bias in Data, Bias in Machines Historical bias, representation bias, measurement bias, feedback loops, COMPAS, hiring algorithms Yes
15 Fairness: Definitions, Tensions, and Trade-offs Demographic parity, equalized odds, calibration, impossibility theorems, group vs. individual fairness Yes
16 Transparency, Explainability, and the Black Box Problem XAI, LIME, SHAP, right to explanation, meaningful transparency vs. transparency theater
17 Accountability and Audit Algorithmic auditing, impact assessments, liability frameworks, responsible parties, audit methods
18 Generative AI: Ethics of Creation and Deception LLMs, deepfakes, synthetic media, copyright, labor displacement, hallucination, watermarking
19 Autonomous Systems and Moral Machines Self-driving cars, autonomous weapons, moral agency, trolley problems revisited, human oversight

Part 4: Governance and Regulation

Chapter Title Key Topics Python?
20 The Regulatory Landscape: A Global Survey Approaches to tech regulation, US sectoral model, EU comprehensive model, China's model, emerging frameworks
21 The EU AI Act and Risk-Based Regulation Risk tiers, prohibited practices, high-risk requirements, conformity assessment, penalties
22 Data Governance Frameworks and Institutions DAMA-DMBOK, data governance councils, data quality management, metadata management Yes
23 Cross-Border Data Flows and Digital Sovereignty Adequacy decisions, SCCs, data localization, Schrems I & II, CLOUD Act, splinternet
24 Sector-Specific Governance: Finance, Health, Education Financial data regulation, health informatics governance, student data privacy, FERPA, COPPA
25 Enforcement, Compliance, and the Limits of Law DPA enforcement, consent decrees, regulatory capture, compliance vs. ethics, limits of legal approaches

Part 5: Corporate Responsibility and Data Ethics in Practice

Chapter Title Key Topics Python?
26 Building a Data Ethics Program Ethics committees, ethical frameworks operationalized, culture change, incentive structures
27 Data Stewardship and the Chief Data Officer CDO role evolution, data stewardship models, data catalogs, lineage tracking, organizational design Yes
28 Privacy Impact Assessments and Ethical Reviews PIAs, DPIAs, ethical review boards, IRBs, algorithmic impact assessments, templates and processes
29 Responsible AI Development Model cards, datasheets for datasets, RAI frameworks, testing and monitoring, red-teaming Yes
30 When Things Go Wrong: Breach Response and Crisis Ethics Incident response, breach notification, crisis communication, ethical obligations, learning from failure

Part 6: Society, Justice, and Emerging Frontiers

Chapter Title Key Topics Python?
31 Misinformation, Disinformation, and Platform Governance Content moderation, Section 230, DSA, fact-checking, prebunking, platform accountability
32 Digital Divide, Data Justice, and Equity Access gaps, digital redlining, data colonialism, indigenous data sovereignty, data feminism
33 Labor, Automation, and the Gig Economy Algorithmic management, worker surveillance, platform labor, automation anxiety, just transition
34 Environmental Data Ethics and Climate AI energy consumption, e-waste, environmental monitoring, climate data, green AI Yes
35 Children, Teens, and Digital Vulnerability COPPA, age verification, youth mental health, educational technology, parental controls, design for minors
36 National Security, Intelligence, and Democratic Oversight Mass surveillance programs, FISA, Five Eyes, encryption debates, democratic oversight mechanisms
37 Global South Perspectives on Data Governance Data colonialism, digital extractivism, leapfrogging, African data policy, Indian digital stack, alternative models

Part 7: The Future of Data Governance

Chapter Title Key Topics Python?
38 Emerging Technologies and Anticipatory Governance Quantum computing, brain-computer interfaces, IoT expansion, digital twins, governance under uncertainty
39 Designing Data Futures: Participation, Imagination, and Hope Participatory design, data cooperatives, speculative design, citizen assemblies, prefigurative governance Yes

Part 8: Capstone — Synthesis and Action

Chapter Title Key Topics
40 Your Responsibility: From Knowledge to Action Integration, personal ethics, professional identity, civic engagement, the practitioner's oath

Capstone Projects

  1. Data Ethics Audit — Conduct a comprehensive ethical audit of a real data system
  2. Policy Brief — Draft a policy brief on a data governance challenge for a specific audience
  3. Speculative Design — Design a data governance system for a future technology scenario

Appendices

Appendix Title
— Glossary
— Answers to Selected Exercises
— Bibliography
A Research Methods for Data Ethics
B Key Studies in Data Governance and AI Ethics
C Primary Sources Guide: Annotated Key Documents
D Legal Frameworks Reference: Comparative Data Protection Law
E Privacy Tools and Resource Directory
F Frequently Asked Questions
G Python Data Ethics Toolkit: Consolidated Code Reference