Federated data as a commons: a third way to subject-centric and collective-centric approaches to data epistemology and politics

Stefano Calzati*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleScientificpeer-review

3 Citations (Scopus)
24 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Purpose: This study advances a reconceptualization of data and information which overcomes normative understandings often contained in data policies at national and international levels. This study aims to propose a conceptual framework that moves beyond subject- and collective-centric normative understandings. Design/methodology/approach: To do so, this study discusses the European Union (EU) and China’s approaches to data-driven technologies highlighting their similarities and differences when it comes to the vision underpinning how tech innovation is shaped. Findings: Regardless of the different attention to the subject (the EU) and the collective (China), the normative understandings of technology by both actors remain trapped into a positivist approach that overlooks all that is not and cannot be turned into data, thus hindering the elaboration of a more holistic ecological thinking merging humans and technologies. Originality/value: Revising the philosophical and political debate on data and data-driven technologies, a third way is elaborated, i.e. federated data as commons. This third way puts the subject as part by default of a collective at the centre of discussion. This framing can serve as the basis for elaborating sociotechnical alternatives when it comes to define and regulate the mash-up of humans and technology.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)16-29
Number of pages14
JournalJournal of Information, Communication and Ethics in Society
Volume21
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2022

Keywords

  • AI ethics
  • China
  • Commons
  • Data epistemology
  • Data policies
  • EU
  • Federated data

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