What will the future look like if AI mimics people?

Artificial intelligence and big data analytics have the potential to add greatly to the benefits of information and communication technologies, but they can also have undesirable impacts on ethics and human rights. Privacy and data protection are the most obvious issues, but they are far from the only ones. Concerns range from questions of fairness […]
AI and Cybersecurity: How can ethics guide artificial intelligence to make our societies safer?

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) are generally perceived as futuristic technologies over which we don’t have control. They are often associated with fictional scenarios in which machines are taking over the world. In reality, these new technological tools are already part of our life. They are part of a growing business development trend […]
When AI, big data, ethics and human rights converge

“Artificial intelligence and big data analytics bring a variety of benefits to society, but at the same time have the potential to disrupt society, ethical values and human rights, and life as we know it”, says Bernd Stahl, Director of the Centre for Computing and Social Responsibility, De Montfort University and co-ordinator of the SHERPA […]
Tax crime: how much do we pay for those who don’t?

Trilateral Research joins law enforcement agencies, national tax authorities and other research institutions from several EU countries in the newly launched, EU-funded PROTAX project, for a concerted and timely initiative to combat tax crime in Europe. The PROTAX consortium is looking for answers to questions like these: Why should we pay more taxes or have […]
How can citizens and society engage and benefit from digital transformation?

The idea that digital transformation can have a considerable sustainable impact on the public sector and, consequently on society, it is at the heart of Trilateral Research work. Combining technology development with social science expertise, we investigate how data analytics, artificial intelligence, and new ICT technologies can transform our society for the better. As coordinator […]
Research Highlights: Identifying the link between human trafficking and homelessness

In one of our latest research projects, The TRACE project, alongside coordinating the consortium we led the analysis of how technology is being used in the trafficking of human beings and how it can help combat this crime. In delving into this research area, we have realised that while ‘one set of activists and legislators […]
Data Science Frontiers – Capturing the benefits of “extreme scale” analytics

Extreme scale analytics is characterised by a data volume, variety or velocity well beyond traditional “big data” measures, which require new computing skills and tools able to organise and analyse these enormous data sets. This latest technological development at the frontiers of data science may have an extreme impact on specific industrial sectors or service […]
Assessing your data makes you more efficient in protecting vulnerable persons

Digital transformation can simplify and make processes more efficient, enabling local authorities and the public sector to assist citizens and those most vulnerable in society better. In the UK Government’s Digital Strategy there is focus on “Digital Government’, encouraging the public sector to improve its service delivery by optimising its use of technology, user interaction […]
Digital transformation for the public sector: The case for National Health Services

Public authorities across Europe are under pressure to maintain and improve the quality of public services despite austerity cuts and demographic changes, which see an ageing population requiring increasing health and social care arrangements. National Health Services across Europe, for example, suffer the impact of Europe’s ageing population and stalled economic growth. There is a […]
Assessing the Ethical, Legal and Social Impacts of new technologies: the DEVELOP project case study

Trilateral’s interdisciplinary team is made of data scientists, computer scientists, social scientists and ethical and legal experts who develop, test and implement technologies that pay attention to ethical, legal and social impacts, respects human rights and dignities, and avoids negative and unwanted outcomes. We work across the technology-social disciplinary divide both when we engage in […]