Last week the Open Data Institute (ODI) hosted their annual summit. This year the event was held virtually and included keynote talks, panel discussions and expo booths. The summit brought together people from a range of sectors to discuss the future of data. Topics covered included the use of data in innovation, climate studies, health, policy making, and more.

In the first of three keynotes, UK Minister of State for Media and Data John Whittingdale discussed the National Data Strategy. In the second keynote, Elizabeth Denham, the UK Information Commissioner considered the important question of who decides how we can use data.

The final keynote by Safiya Umoja Noble (UCLA) was entitled: “Algorithms of oppression: how search engines reinforce racism”. The ODI provided a nice summary of this excellent keynote in their Twitter thread below (click for full thread):

'Many people think of search engines as a fact-checker or knowledge repository, they aren't orientated to search as an advertising plaform' – @safiyanoble, Author of Algorithms of Oppression at #ODISummit2020

— Open Data Institute (@ODIHQ) November 10, 2020

If you are interested in watching some of the talks and sessions from the summit, the ODI have created this YouTube playlist.

The videos below give a flavour of some of the sessions.

ODI Summit 2020: What role does data play in addressing the climate crisis?

ODI Summit 2020: How do we create and collaborate across borders to create global value?

ODI Summit 2020: the future of Covid-19

ODI Summit 2020: How do we ensure policy makers listen to data?

Find out more about the summit and about open data in general

Read the ODI’s summary of the event.

The ODI run a series of free talks on how open data is impacting different parts of our society. These are held on Fridays at 13:00 (UK time) – find out more here.

The ODI also host a series of on-demand and live webinars on various data-related topics. Find out more here.

Lucy Smith , Managing Editor for AIhub... read more