Understanding Digital Data Flows

Derived from the Greek words “bio” meaning life and “metric” meaning to measure, biometrics refers to applying statistical analysis to physical traits. A biometric is any measurable physical characteristic or personal trait that can be used to identify or verify an individual’s identity. As an emerging technology with ever-increasing applications, biometric technology is used for personal identity, authentication, profiling, analysis, and tracking. These applications raise concerns for people in some contexts, but these systems are also being used to make it easier to access the devices and accounts individuals and companies rely on, thereby helping to do things like unlock smart phones, access bank accounts, travel, and enter physical workspaces. There are things biometric technologies do well, and areas where the use of biometric systems should be considered with caution. Particularly when systems are used to track people’s health, behavioral habits, analysis or profiling, or even to evaluate emotion, personal characteristics, or preferences. Current social, ethical, and regulatory regimes are still grappling with how to best govern the development and application of this technology.

The Biometrics session will cover topics including:

• How biometrics systems work, including definitions, technology processes, and common systems such as facial recognition, fingerprints, voice, and behavioral characterization;
• The benefits and risks, including efficiencies, potential harms, and privacy considerations;
• Common commercial applications of the technology in healthcare, advertising, employment, and education contexts; and
• Social and ethical considerations, including law enforcement uses, regulatory frameworks, and standards setting initiatives.

Your Biometrics: Head to Toe training hosts:

• Brenda Leong, Senior Counsel & Director of AI & Ethics. Brenda oversees development of privacy analysis of AI and Machine Learning technologies, and manages the FPF portfolio on biometrics and digital identity, along with the ethics challenges of these emerging systems. Read her full bio.
  
• Dr. John Howard. John is a computer scientist specializing in biometrics research and the test and evaluation of artificial intelligence systems. He holds a Ph.D. in Computer Science from Southern Methodist University where his dissertation focused on understanding group-based performance variation in biometric systems. He is currently a principal scientist at SAIC, and the lead data scientist at the Maryland Test Facility, a government funded research lab that focuses on measuring the efficiency, effectiveness, and fairness of AI applications. Read his full bio.

Individual Rate: $350 per person
Discounted FPF Supporter Rate: $250 per person

Going beyond the fundamentals of online advertising, this session provides an in-depth examination of the online advertising ecosystem focusing on a variety of topics, including mobile platforms, consent frameworks, analytics, and the technologies behind them. We will also explore the challenges affecting the future of online advertising, including deprecation of third-party cookies, platform requirements related to tracking, and key laws and regulations shaping the ad tech sector, as well as technologies developed to address user and legal requirements globally.

Your Beyond the Basics of Online Advertising training hosts:

• Christy Harris, Director of Technology and Privacy Research. Christy leads internal research and public policy efforts on issues of data privacy and online advertising, mobile apps, and platforms. Christy advised on AOL’s global advertising and marketing practices during her tenure at the company. Read her full bio.
  
• Adam Towvim, Adjunct Professor, Brandeis International Business School and Partner, Chameleon Collective. Adam is an interim marketing leader with deep expertise in customer data analytics who has led growth strategies for companies like Salesforce, LiveRamp, Jumptap, and Waystar. As a strategic advisor, Adam’s focus areas include mobile/precise location and new digital media technologies, covering impacts to data privacy and digital advertising practices. Read his full bio.

Individual Rate: $350 per person
Discounted FPF Supporter Rate: $250 per person

“Freedom is an endless meeting”– Francesca Polletta, 2002.

As organizations strive to manage risks associated with research, product development, and data sharing, they are confronted with the challenge of setting up structures to facilitate discussions of ethics with internal and external stakeholders. They are immediately confronted with the challenges of identifying ethics expertise, deciding on an organizational design for ethical committees, and deciding just how to perform an applied ethics review that achieves actionable results.

In this session, attendees will learn:

• Practical steps to set up and facilitate an applied ethics discussion that uses a consensus based decision-making framework,
• How to identify ethics expertise within your organization,
• How to choose a model for applied ethics discussions that is appropriate to your ambitions, and
• How to participate effectively in a consensus-based discussion session that achieves results.

Your Ethics Without the Elbow Patches: Applied Ethics Reviews training host:

• Dr. Sara Jordan, Senior Counsel for AI & Ethics. Sara’s profile at FPF includes privacy implications of data sharing, data and AI review boards, privacy analysis of AI and Machine Learning (AI/ML) technologies, and analysis of the ethics challenges of AI/ML. Read her full bio.

Individual Rate: $350 per person
Discounted FPF Supporter Rate: $250 per person

“Digital identity” refers to a system of electronically stored attributes and/or credentials that uniquely identify and authenticate an individual person. Digital identity systems vary in complexity. From simply recreating a physical ID such as a driver’s license in a digital format to a fully integrated digital identity system operating as a complete wallet and verification process, these systems are being developed and implemented in many contexts. This sort of credentialing program can also act as an electronic signature, timestamp, or seal for financial and legal transactions.

The Basics of Digital Identity session will cover the way these systems work, and the privacy and security issues that may arise as they become more prevalent.

Your Basics of Digital Identity training host:

• Brenda Leong, Senior Counsel & Director of AI & Ethics. Brenda oversees development of privacy analysis of AI and Machine Learning technologies, and manages the FPF portfolio on biometrics and digital identity, along with the ethics challenges of these emerging systems. Read her full bio.

Individual Rate: $350 per person
Discounted FPF Supporter Rate: $250 per person

Using AI responsibly and with a reasonable return on investment requires a whole of business commitment. But, understanding AI and Machine Learning can seem beyond the ability of experts in legal, human resources, or marketing. If you don’t know your Kubernetes from your KNN, then the “Fundamentals of AI & Machine Learning” course is a crash course to accelerate your learning about machine learning.

In this session, attendees will be introduced to:

• Essential terminology for machine learning, including terminology for data architecture, data cleaning, algorithmic forms, and machine learning performance metrics,
• Three classic machine learning research papers and will learn how to read these as a well-informed layperson, able to speak more fluently with machine learning team members in your organization.

Your Fundamentals of AI & Machine Learning training hosts:

• Brenda Leong, Senior Counsel & Director of AI & Ethics. Brenda oversees development of privacy analysis of AI and Machine Learning technologies, and manages the FPF portfolio on biometrics and digital identity, along with the ethics challenges of these emerging systems. Read her full bio.
• Dr. Sara Jordan, Senior Counsel for AI & Ethics. Sara’s profile at FPF includes privacy implications of data sharing, data and AI review boards, privacy analysis of AI and Machine Learning (AI/ML) technologies, and analysis of the ethics challenges of AI/ML. Read her full bio.

Individual Rate: $350 per person
Discounted FPF Supporter Rate: $250 per person

The Fundamentals of Online Advertising session will explore the evolution of the online advertising ecosystem and a variety of related topics, including basic ad delivery and reporting, online and mobile platforms and data flows, real-time bidding (RTB), and analytics, as well as an overview of the current developments affecting the future of ad tech.

Participants will gain an understanding of:

• The basics of online advertising and its evolution over time, including how browsers work; the flow of data between websites, ad tech providers, and intermediaries; and the terminology;
• The intricacies of programmatic advertising, including real-time bidding (RTB), and the interplay between the various participants in the ecosystem;
• How data from users’ activities across different websites or platforms is used for targeted advertising; and
• Challenges affecting the future of online advertising, including deprecation of third-party cookies, platform requirements for tracking in mobile apps, and key laws and regulations that guide the ad tech sector.

Your Fundamentals of Online Advertising training hosts:

• Christy Harris, Director of Technology and Privacy Research. Christy leads internal research and public policy efforts on issues of data privacy and online advertising, mobile apps, and platforms. Christy advised on AOL’s global advertising and marketing practices during her tenure at the company. Read her full bio.
  
• Dr. Rob van Eijk, Managing Director for Europe. Rob manages FPF’s European operations, and manages relationships with stakeholders in industry, government, academia, and civil society. Rob holds a PhD in programmatic advertising and was a senior technologist with the Dutch Data Protection Authority. Read his full bio.

Individual Rate: $350 per person
Discounted FPF Supporter Rate: $250 per person

As AI is increasingly incorporated into their operations, businesses need to understand the underlying technologies and data flows in order to facilitate model integration, measure for bias, and promote fairness. Not all businesses can accurately define when they are using artificial intelligence, or be reliably confident in their knowledge of the internal data flows powering these systems. In addition, organizations responsible for AI models may not be familiar with all sources of data, or have identifiable tracking, documentation, and oversight of their outputs.

The Fundamentals of AI Governance session will cover topics including:

• The key markers of artificial intelligence, machine learning, and data analytics in existing systems;
• The essentials of data flows, data management, and data use for production level artificial intelligence applications;
• The basics of AI models, managing and testing models, and deploying AI; and
• The importance of understanding data and models as two levers to pull when managing bias and fairness in artificial intelligence and machine learning models.

Your Fundamentals of AI Governance training hosts:

• Brenda Leong, Senior Counsel & Director of AI & Ethics. Brenda oversees development of privacy analysis of AI and Machine Learning technologies, and manages the FPF portfolio on biometrics and digital identity, along with the ethics challenges of these emerging systems. Read her full bio.
  
• Dr. Sara Jordan, Senior Counsel for AI & Ethics. Sara’s profile at FPF includes privacy implications of data sharing, data and AI review boards, privacy analysis of AI and Machine Learning (AI/ML) technologies, and analysis of the ethics challenges of AI/ML. Read her full bio.

Individual Rate: $350 per person
Discounted FPF Supporter Rate: $250 per person

The De-Identification session will cover topics including: 

• The basics of identifiability, including technical and legal definitions;
• Risk-based de-identification methods; and
• Understanding and mitigating re-identification risks using technical, legal, and organizational controls.

Your De-Identification training hosts:

• Kelsey Finch, Senior Counsel. Kelsey leads FPF’s efforts on smart cities and communities, data de-identification, and ethical data-sharing and research, and serves as an expert and thought leader through speaking engagements, media interviews, and interaction with local, state, and federal regulators and strategic partners. Read her full bio.
  
• Dr. Rob van Eijk, Managing Director for Europe. Rob manages FPF’s European operations, and manages relationships with stakeholders in industry, government, academia, and civil society. Rob holds a PhD in programmatic advertising and was a senior technologist with the Dutch Data Protection Authority. Read his full bio.

Individual Rate: $350 per person
Discounted FPF Supporter Rate: $250 per person