Tools

You can apply these insights within your organisation using the tools below as you work towards integrity in the digital workplace.

Much has already been written about the ethical and legal aspects of digitalisation. The Dutch Whistleblowers Authority has compiled an overview of useful tools identified in its research. For each tool, it indicates who developed it and what it can be used for. However, as technology is developing so rapidly, you may already be able to find newer or improved tools.

WEIGHING VALUES AND INTERESTS

Various conversation tools can be used to facilitate discussion about using digital technologies with integrity. The Utrecht Data School’s tool (DEDA) helps organisations brainstorm ethical considerations in data management. It is a useful tool for gaining insight into values that are relevant in the digital workplace, such as privacy and reliability. It can also help organisations weigh rights and interests when using digital tools.

The Dutch government’s AIIA is a tool that helps weigh the purpose and necessity of using a digital tool against its impact on sustainability and other public values in the context of artificial intelligence (AI). The tool can be used in all phases of working with AI: from purchasing digital systems to evaluating the impact of AI on work processes. For AI impact assessments, organisations can also use the Dutch government’s IAMA tool: it assesses the impact of AI on human rights.

More than simply complying with legislation and regulations

The Dutch Whistleblowers Authority has included tools relating to moral learning when using digital technologies, because an integrity-based digital workplace goes beyond simply acting in accordance with the law. Something can be legal and socially undesirable at the same time. Digital technologies that run on AI are very attractive in terms of work process efficiency. These technologies, precisely because they are commercially attractive, require additional attention and reflection on how they are used.

An example of this is predictive policing, which involves using AI-based models to inform the efficient deployment of police. The Dutch National Police experimented with this in 2017 using the Criminaliteits Anticipatie Systeem (Crime Anticipation System, CAS), but the pilot showed that the system led to a self-fulfilling prophecy. The more police were deployed in a particular area, the more crime was detected there, creating a bias in the dataset on which the system operated. This is an example of a system that complied with the laws and regulations in force at the time, but still had socially undesirable outcomes.

RISK MANAGEMENT

The Netherlands Court of Audit developed an Algorithm Assessment Framework, which specifically identifies which integrity risks are new as a result of the digital workplace. The assessment framework formulates questions relating to the four most important risk areas: control and accountability, model and data, IT management and ethical challenges. Additionally, digital technologies often use personal data, which is why it is important to have insight into privacy risks.[1] The DPIA, the Dutch Data Protection Authority’s Data Protection Impact Assessment, is an instrument used to identify the privacy risks of data processing in advance. Organisations whose processing of personal data entails a high privacy risk are required to conduct a DPIA.[2] The CIP’s PriSA, the Centre for Information Security and Privacy Protection’s Privacy Self-Assessment, is a management tool that provides insight into an organisation’s maturity level in relation to GDPR compliance.[3] CapAI, Oxford University’s Conformity Assessment Procedure for AI, enables organisations to determine the extent to which they are acting in line with European legislation on AI. The Belgian Knowledge Centre Data & Society has a collection of similar tools, including a card game that helps identify blind spots in self-learning algorithms, as well as an ethics logbook to promote ethical decision-making.[4]

[1] The assessment framework was designed for auditors, inspectors and regulators. For additional information, see the Netherlands Court of Audit website: https://www.rekenkamer.nl/onderwerpen/a/algoritmes/toetsingskader

[2] For additional information, see the Dutch Data Protection Authority (DPA) website: https://www.autoriteitpersoonsgegevens.nl/themas/basis-avg/praktisch-avg/data-protection-impact-assessment-dpia

[3] For additional information, see the Centre for Information Security and Privacy Protection website: https://www.cip-overheid.nl

[4] Please note that the Belgian Knowledge Centre Data & Society is a Belgian knowledge centre, which means that the precise application of the tools may differ under Dutch legislation and regulations.

UPDATING THE INTEGRITY POLICY

Due to the rapid development of digital tools, organisations’ integrity policies and their use of these tools are not yet aligned everywhere. It is vital to address this as soon as possible. This is necessary in order to respond to the ethical questions raised by innovations and to justify the choices that have been made. It protects both the organisation and the people who work in it. First, develop a clear vision on the ethical use of digital tools, so that the policy does not need to be amended for every subsequent innovation.

For information and inspiration on the ethical use of digital tools, see the e-learning courses provided by the Government Organisation for Development, Digitalisation and Innovation.