La Nuit des idées - "Why do we need more and more data?"
"Why do we need more and more data?" was the theme of "La Nuit des idées" in Basel, which was held on November 6, 2023 in collaboration between the Responsible Digital Society research network and the Ethics Committee of the University of Basel, and the French Embassy in Switzerland. It was part of the worldwide "La Nuit des idées" series of events organised each year by cultural and educational institutions in France and abroad.
In the first part of the event, two input presentations introduced the topic: Tanja Stadler, President of the COVID-19 Scientific Advisory Board and Professor at the ETH Institute D-BSSE in Basel, analyzed the role of data in crisis management, with a captivating look back at decision-making during the corona pandemic. From the French side, Claude Kirchner, head of the Comité National Pilote d'Éthique du Numérique, then raised the question of whether too much data is not even detrimental to information gain.
In the second part, the role of data was examined further in a panel moderated by Eric Facon. In addition to the two speakers, Nadja Braun Binder, Professor at the Faculty of Law at the University of Basel, and Jean-François Cerisier, Professor of Information Sciences at the University of Poitiers and member of the Comité d'éthique sur les données d'éducation in France, further addressed the role of data from various perspectives. At the end, the audience was also able to contribute to the lively bilingual event, which was supported by simultaneous translation.