Opening data of smart cities under the DGA: an overview of the challenges brought about by data sharing

Abstract

Cities across Europe are opening up their datasets and making them available to citizens, other local governments, companies and researchers. It is sufficient to perform a quick search on the internet to come across hundreds of data-bases containing information about the most diverse subjects, ranging from mobility-related information to energy consumption, from trees planted within a given year to subsidies issued to people with disabilities. Arguably, other than being useful for research purposes, making these data held by municipalities available is desirable to promote citizens’ scrutiny of local policies. Such openness aligns with a new trend in data policies in the European Union (EU) under the EU Data Strategy. To accelerate the development of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, data sharing and re-use have gained new momentum. Yet, what could be the possible downsides of data sharing, especially for AI development? Data protection law scholars have already expressed concerns about the difficult reconciliation of data protection and data sharing instruments. By contrast, the possible implications in terms of AI fairness remain largely overlooked. This contribution contains some preliminary reflections on the challenges brought about by data sharing. It builds on a desk analysis of the DGA, deemed particularly relevant to the smart city context as aimed at strengthening the re-use of public sector information.

Keywords: DGA, data sharing, smart cities