LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Or Lenchner, CEO of the industry-leading public web data platform Bright Data, last month joined members of the UK Parliament at a roundtable discussion looking at issues around ethics and regulation in data and alternative intelligence (AI). Held on 22 February 2022, the event was the second evidence session of the All Party Group for Data Analytics (APGDA) inquiry, which aims to identify practical governance and regulatory measures, and tools to support the ethical development of AI in the UK for the benefit of the public and businesses.
The event was co-chaired by Lord Chris Holmes and Lord Tim Clement-Jones. Or spoke on a panel alongside Ansgar Koene, Ernst & Young; Dr Aisha Naseer, Advisor on AI Ethics; Roger Taylor, Accenture and former chair of CDEI; Marina Jirotka, University of Oxford; and Carly Kind, Ada Lovelace Institute. Participants included a range of stakeholders across industry, academia, and the third sector.
Lenchner drew on his experience of leading Bright Data to highlight the need for tech businesses to self-regulate, remarking that technological innovation is moving faster than the ability of governments to develop fully detailed regulations. He outlined how, as a responsible leader in the web data domain, Bright Data is taking steps to self-regulate and, hopefully, set ethical standards that point the way to effective regulation. However, in acknowledging that not all companies show the same levels of responsibility, he argued that regulators should look at making it mandatory for businesses to have self regulation measures in place to uphold ethical standards. He also made a powerful case for business leaders to play a part in shaping regulation as they have the insight needed to really understand what will work for the fast moving tech industry.
Or Lenchner, Bright Data CEO, said:
“AI has transformative power but it is only as effective as the data sets it is trained on. As one of the world’s biggest public web data platforms, Bright Data feels a sense of responsibility to help ensure that data is collected and used in the most ethical ways. The fast pace of technological change makes it important for business leaders to play a part in helping legislators understand the issues at stake and determine the regulations that are needed, so I was delighted to be a part of this important Inquiry.”
Or will now play a part on the steering group of the APGDA Inquiry, which will continue to gather evidence and develop a set of recommendations to the UK Government this summer.
Participation in the Inquiry is a continuation of Bright Data’s support for the UK Government in implementing the National Data Strategy (NDS). This includes being the Government’s NDS Forum, as well as the Data Skills Taskforce - a network of government agencies, education institutions and industry leaders.
Through the Bright Initiative - a global programme that uses publicly available web data to drive positive change, helping young people to develop the skills needed to thrive in a data-driven economy - Bright Data has also entered into new partnerships with a range of UK universities this year.
These collaborations include:
- Running a workshop for students at Russell Group member Queen Mary, University of London to provide an introduction to the role that web data plays in the modern economy and society and encourage students to consider the ethical issues involved in working with data.
- Delivering a guest lecture as part of the course being studied by postgraduate data science students in Queen Mary’s School of Electronic Engineering and Computer Science.
- Teaming up with fellow Russell Group member the University of Exeter to support Digital and Coding Week - a campaign run by the University to help students set out on careers in tech.
- Building on a recent workshop for students at the University of Essex with a full demonstration of Bright Data’s industry-leading public web data products and an open offer of pro-bono access for researchers across the university. As a world-leader in social science research this will support the University of Essex to make breakthroughs on some of the most pressing challenges of our age.
Keren Pakes, General Manager of the Bright Initiative added:
“We have an incredibly strong commitment to helping educators and researchers to unlock the benefits of public web data, which is why we provide such extensive support to so many institutions around the world. We are keen to do more though - the possibilities are limitless! I encourage anyone with an interest in making online data work for the good of the world to get in touch.”
Notes to editors:
- Full details of the APGDA roundtable that Or Lenchner took part in cab be read here: https://www.policyconnect.org.uk/news/ai-and-ethics-evidence-session-2
- Further details of Or Lenchner’s call for effective regulation can be read here: https://www.policyconnect.org.uk/blog/industry-led-standards-web-data-collection
About the Bright Initiative
The Bright Initiative was established as a place to give back and make a real impact on people’s lives. We offer our robust data-driven technology and products, know-how, expertise, and finely attuned support, aimed at quite literally improving the world as we know it. We focus on four areas:
- Future data generation - Providing educational programs and supporting research
- Environmental protection + public wellbeing - Promoting environmental protection initiatives & powering public well-being organizations
- The future of the interne - Driving web transparency initiatives & global regulations
- Public policy - Driving data-driven strategies to benefit our economy & society
To read more about the Bright Initiative, click here
About Bright Data
Bright Data is an industry -leading web data platform. Fortune 500 companies, academic institutions, and small businesses rely on Bright Data’s solutions to retrieve public web data in the most efficient, reliable, and flexible way so they can research, monitor and analyze it to make better decisions.
