Superb new publication by Louis Ravn on the increasingly popular role of synthetic #data in contemporary #development practice. Ravn calls for a framework of #synthetic data justice—one that goes beyond technical fixes to address ethical, political, and social realities in development contexts. It will be part of our forthcoming special issue on 'datafied development with Big Data & Society (Sage Journals), which also contains excellent papers from wonderful scholars on topics ranging from from #digital #humanitarianism to AI4D to the #neocolonially of #AI. Keep an eye out for collection. Nanna Thylstrup Julian P. Rafael Grohmann
🧪 Synthetic Data Meets Development: Justice or “Synthetic-Washing”? New in Big Data & Society: “Towards synthetic data justice for development: A case study of synthetic datasets on human trafficking” by Louis Ravn Synthetic data is increasingly promoted as a privacy-safe solution for working with sensitive issues—such as human trafficking. But does it truly eliminate harm, or does it risk masking deeper inequalities? This paper investigates the UN–Microsoft collaboration that produced the Global Synthetic Datasets (GSDs) on human trafficking—now representing over 222,000 simulated survivor profiles. Through a justice lens, the article raises critical questions: Political Economy: Who controls synthetic datasets, and who benefits? (In)Visibility: Can synthetic data make marginalized groups visible without deep misrepresentation? Abstraction vs. Experience: What is lost when trauma becomes “synthetic”? “Synthetic-Washing”: The danger that privacy claims may obscure enduring power asymmetries. Ravn calls for a framework of synthetic data justice—one that goes beyond technical fixes to address ethical, political, and social realities in development contexts. 👉 Read the article: https://lnkd.in/ej74DeA4