THE EAGLE – Donata Columbro – ‘Parentesi’, the review of scientific literature open to the public and promoted by the Gssi in collaboration with the University of L’Aquila, which this year has reached its second edition, has ended.
Starting last March, it saw five events held in the Colacchi bookshop with a now consolidated format: authoritative scientific communicators presented their works by answering questions from Gssi teachers and students.
Closing the event yesterday was the journalist, writer and popularizer Donata Columbro. A very active feminist on issues of discrimination, in particular with reference to gender equality, and the role of women in STEM, Columbro explained that data are human and social constructs, influenced by the choices and personal history of those who deal with them .
In every step of the process that leads us to the final result, the journalist explained, there is human intervention, influenced by the context and personal history of those who deal with these issues.
The data helps create a narrative of a phenomenon. Therefore, by collecting only some data rather than others, a gap is created which increases discrimination because no one will deal with a ‘hidden’ problem.
Gssi professor Carmelo Evoli spoke about her book with the eloquent title ‘When data discriminates’ published by Il Margine Editore and asked her questions.
When data discriminates (Il Margine Editore)
“Data does not exist in nature, we cannot collect it if it is not first produced. But if nature can somehow produce fruit and flowers without our intervention, this never happens with data. Why then are we still very tied to expressions like ‘the data say so’ or ‘data driven’ as a quality seal of a project, a report, or even a political programme?”
When all our decisions are based on data because we seek objectivity, but ignore context, we can face enormous misunderstandings and conclude that this objectivity – ultimately – does not exist.
Donata Columbro thoroughly investigates the unconscious side of data influenced by the context in which it is collected, illustrating how it is essential to recognize the presence of biases in data processing and how it is necessary to balance data sets. Who has the power to collect and analyze the data? And who, on the other hand, absolutely does not have this power? The volume invites readers to commit themselves so that data does not become an amplifier of discrimination, damaging communities or groups on the margins of society.
Donata Columbro
Journalist, communicator and writer. You collaborate with ‘Internazionale’ and ‘La Stampa’, for which you edit the Data Storie column. She is a contract professor for the IULM University of Milan and for the University of Italian Switzerland in Lugano. You teach data journalism at the Master of Journalism at LUISS in Rome and every Wednesday you publish a newsletter on data, algorithms and technology.
