The rapid growth of technology and data brings up important questions about ethics. How do tools like algorithms affect issues like race, class, and justice? Martin Eiermann, a sociology professor at UW–Madison, is exploring these questions using data, research, and firsthand observations.
Originally from Germany, Eiermann came to the U.S. for his studies, earning a degree from Harvard and a PhD from UC Berkeley before teaching at Duke and then UW–Madison. He says, “This really feels like home,” emphasizing his passion for sociology and personal data politics.
Eiermann’s recent book, The Limiting Principle: How Privacy Became a Public Issue, dives into how personal data has been politicized. He studies the Information Age from the 1880s to 1930s, a time when technology rapidly evolved. During this period, privacy changed from a set of informal norms to legal guidelines that influence millions of lives today.
He points out that as technology improves our ability to collect data, perceptions of privacy often diminish. However, he argues that privacy isn’t just about tech; it’s also shaped by laws and political choices. For instance, in healthcare, privacy laws like HIPAA are federal, but state laws vary, complicating how personal medical information is protected.
Eiermann highlights ongoing trends in public administration where data is used for decisions in social welfare and criminal justice. Predictive tools generate risk scores to guide interventions for things like child welfare and criminal recidivism. While these tools aim to help overworked caseworkers, they can also perpetuate racial biases if the algorithms reflect existing prejudices.
To study these impacts, Eiermann employs a “mixed methods” approach, blending computational analysis with archival research and direct observations. This helps him understand the wider effects of data use.
In the classroom, Eiermann teaches courses like “Surveillance Culture,” encouraging students to think critically about social issues and explore computational tools like Python and R. He aims to prepare them for a world where data use is becoming increasingly complex.
Eiermann warns that as our lives become more digital, there’s a shift from old-fashioned data collection to real-time tracking, which poses challenges for privacy laws. Keeping these laws updated is crucial for ensuring meaningful protections against misuse in our data-driven world.
Historically, societal changes often lead to new privacy norms and regulations. As seen in the past, societal demands can reshape laws, which may be exactly what we need today. This context emphasizes the ongoing relevance of Eiermann’s work and the need for vigilant protection of individual privacy rights in an evolving landscape.
For more insights on data privacy and ethics, you can explore resources from the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
