Q&A: Laurent Elder on open data’s double-edged sword

By: Imogen Mathers

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<h1>Q&A: Laurent Elder on open data’s double-edged sword</h1>
<h4>By: Imogen Mathers</h4>
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<p><iframe loading="lazy" frameborder="no" height="450" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/140194361&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&visual=true" width="100%"></iframe></p>
<p>[LONDON] In this podcast, Laurent Elder, who leads the information and networks programme at the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) in Canada, discusses the dangers and opportunities presented by the global data revolution.<br />
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Elder cites projects where better and more diverse types of <a href="https://www.scidev.net/enterprise/data/">data</a> generation and analysis have brought social and human rights benefits. But he also sounds a warning note about open data and the problems that emerge when data sets fall into the wrong hands or are used by governments to abuse human rights or further disenfranchise the socially, politically or economically marginalised.<br />
 <br />
The interview was recorded at <a href="https://www.scidev.net/data/multimedia/make-it-count.html">Making it Count</a>, a conference on data organised by SciDev.Net, the IDRC and the UK Collaborative on Development Sciences, on 24 February.  </p>

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<p>This article was originally published on <a href="https://www.scidev.net" target="_blank">SciDev.Net</a>. Read the <a href="https://www.scidev.net/global/multimedia/q-a-laurent-elder-open-data/" target="_blank">original article</a>.</p>
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[LONDON] In this podcast, Laurent Elder, who leads the information and networks programme at the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) in Canada, discusses the dangers and opportunities presented by the global data revolution.

Elder cites projects where better and more diverse types of data generation and analysis have brought social and human rights benefits. But he also sounds a warning note about open data and the problems that emerge when data sets fall into the wrong hands or are used by governments to abuse human rights or further disenfranchise the socially, politically or economically marginalised.

The interview was recorded at Making it Count, a conference on data organised by SciDev.Net, the IDRC and the UK Collaborative on Development Sciences, on 24 February.