Many companies today rely on the innovative use of data to generate new products and services. However, this can pose ethical questions, the answers to which can be decisive for the success of data-based business models. Nevertheless, many companies, especially small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), lack expertise in this area. In order to support an ethically based data economy, the Expert Group on Data Ethics of the Swiss Alliance for Data-Intensive Services has developed a code. This code is intended to help companies develop services that are in line with the ethical expectations of their customers, employees and society. Furthermore, the Code can also be helpful to other organizations in the area of data use.

The Code was presented in German and English at the 6th Swiss Conference on Data Science (SDS19) and is now open for public consultation. Interested parties are invited to give their opinions on the current version of the Codex: 

https://data-service-alliance.ch/innovation/ethics

The DSI researchers Michele Loi and Markus Christen, co-leader of the Alliance's expert group on data ethics, and the other co-leaders Christoph Heitz (researcher in the field of data analysis and process design and currently DSI Fellow) and Karin Lange (Die Mobiliar) as well as other members of the working group, have drawn up the Code. Since 2018, DSI has been a member of the Swiss Alliance for Data-Intensive Services, a network of companies and universities promoting data management.

Impressions of the SDS19 can be found here: https://sds2019.ch/