Protecting Minority Ethnic Community Online (PRIME)
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Glasgow
Department Name: School of Social & Political Sciences
Abstract
Abstracts are not currently available in GtR for all funded research. This is normally because the abstract was not required at the time of proposal submission, but may be because it included sensitive information such as personal details.
Organisations
People |
ORCID iD |
| Mark Tsun On Wong (Principal Investigator) |
| Description | Ofcom call for evidence |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to a national consultation/review |
| Impact | As a result of the submission to evidence, three of the contributors the submission were invited by Ofcom to attend a meeting with senior and other officials at Ofcom, and was then invited to present their research in Ofcom's internal seminar, attended by more than 140 civil servants and officials at Ofcom. |
| Description | Blog post on limitations of data and AI and what this means for Minoritised Ethnic people |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | The PRIME project Research Associate, Dr. Aunam Quyoum, has written a blog post discusses how data systems are embedded in existing patterns of social and racial inequality, and can therefore reproduce discriminatory outcomes. The blog post has been cited and shared with more than 150 policymakers and civil servants in talks that Dr. Quyoum and Dr. Mark Wong conducted in 2022. This includes: 1) the Ofcom internal academic seminar Quyoum and Wong presented at, attended by more than 140 civil servants and officials of UK government's communications regulator, Ofcom, and; 2) the REPHRAIN policy salon session attended by the UK Government's National Crime Agency, Ofcom, and National Police Chiefs Council. The blog post, hosted by the University of Glasgow, outlines a new and more nuanced understanding on the limitations of data and AI and what this means for Minoritised Ethnic people. The piece concludes by critiquing and inviting the readers to question: how reliable is this system, what level of bias might it contain, how fair is this outcome and what inequalities could this perpetuate? The texts of the blog have also been reproduced in a roller banner and leaflets that are displayed in the University of Glasgow's Advanced Research Centre, and have been distributed through interactions and exchange with third sector/community organisations, professional practitioners, public members, and other academics within and outside of our institution. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://sway.office.com/GWCelQvl03sfGQBu?ref=Link |
| Description | Invited talk at Algorithmic Dwelling Symposium |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | I (Mark Wong) was invited to be a speaker at the Algorithmic Dwelling Symposium at the University of York. I increased awareness and understanding of the PRIME project's aims, particularly in addressing inequalities and harms experienced by Minoritised Ethnic people in digital services, in housing, health, and energy. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Ofcom internal seminar series |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | 140 Ofcom civil servants and policymakers attended a talk given by me (Dr. Mark Wong) and project Research Associate, Dr. Aunam Quyoum, both at University of Glasgow. The talk was part of the Ofcom internal/academic seminar series. Our presentation introduced how our multi-institutional PRIME project examines online harms and bias of AI and data systems on Minoritised Ethnic people in digital health, housing, and energy services in the UK. Wong and Quyoum discussed the impact and potential inequalities arising from digitisation (such as use of data and algorithmic decision-making). We also discussed the potential of co-design approach to develop fair and inclusive AI & digital tools with Minoritised Ethnic communities and multi-stakeholders to mitigate discriminatory bias. The talk sparked questions and lively discussions in the form of Q&A and messages in Teams. There were also individual follow-ups from Ofcom staff who were interested to learn more about the findings of the project and collaborate in the future. We were invited to present about our project findings in the future, and Ofcom indicated interests in collaborations and will reach out when academic expertise is required, such as by their online safety team, taking charge of the implementation of the Online Safety Bill, who were present at the talk. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | REPHRAIN policy salon invited talk |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | 15 civil servants and representatives of government/public sector organisation attended a talk given by me (Mark Wong) and our project Research Associate, Aunam Quyoum, both at University of Glasgow, about the project. The talk was part of a series of REPHRAIN's monthly hour-long "Policy Salons" held online, as part of a new initiative aimed at encouraging knowledge exchange and open discussions between policy makers, law enforcement agencies and REPHRAIN, the national centre of excellence on cybersecurity based at University of Bristol. In attendance of the talk were representatives from UK Government's National Crime Agency (social-techncial group, cybersecurity), Ofcom (research team on violence against women and girls), National Police Chief's Councils (Violence against women and girls taskforce), and REPHRAIN (deputy director). The talk was followed by a Q&A about the project's research and how it engages with Minoritised Ethnic people and community organisations in co-design of data and AI. Questions and discussions were also had around the role of trust in digital services and underlying systemic racism in such systems. Further information on co-design and engagement with marginalised communities were requested by civil servants/policy representatives in attendance. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Spotlight Podcast |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | I (Mark Wong) was interviewed for a podcast series, Spotlight, hosted by the University of Glasgow. I discussed the harms and bias in AI and data on Minoritised Ethnic people, with podcast host, Prof. Graeme Roy (Dean of External Engagement, College of Social Science, University of Glasgow). In the podcast, I also added new understanding to the importance of how we collect ethnicity data and information to inform public policy - and how the methods we use to collect and process information can themselves lead to biases in decision-making. The podcast is available on major podcast platforms, including Spotify, Apple Podcast, Google Podcast. The podcast series is widely listened to by Scottish policy makers, civil servants, and general public, with on average more than a hundred listeners per episode. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://open.spotify.com/episode/2pAXbvVrdl8wNUoo3QUtzN |