Leveraging data science for change: navigating perspectives in a world of rapid transformation.

Abstract

In today’s interconnected world, data surged in volume. This exponential increase in data availability has sparked the rise of data science and artificial intelligence (AI), changing how we handle information (Aldoseri et al. 2023). In a world undergoing rapid change across various dimensions, it is important to involve data-driven methods to be able to assess and to follow, and assist citizens in their sustainable actions and projects. These methods help analyze, support, and motivate citizens in actions and projects, addressing complex issues like biodiversity loss, urban liveability, and local activism. With a focus on inclusivity and adaptability, the session aimed to discuss transformative potential approaches that integrate citizen science, data science, and human-computer interaction (HCI). Of particular importance was the focus on the ethical considerations of data science and AI, emphasizing fairness and equity in decision-making, and showcase real-world impacts. Additionally, we explored the conditions for cross-disciplinary collaborations among data scientists, citizen scientists, researchers, practitioners, within various citizen science projects. The current paper presents the session report, highlighting the main discussion points and conclusions.

Keywords

• citizen science
• data science
• ethics
• human-compu