Case Studies
Case Study Approach
The AGENCY work programme is structured around four case studies that have been identified from trends reported in the White Paper on Online Harms and the framework for unintended harms. The resulting case studies represent situations where technology intersects with social challenges related to agency and empowerment.
The case studies we consider are:
Case Study 1: Personal Devices for Health and Wellbeing
Example Complex Harm: life-interfering misappropriation of health-related data, unhealthy eating behaviours through peer pressure.
Case Study 2: Digital Identity Management
Example Complex Harm: being excluded from travelling or borrowing money because of fully automated decision-making based on biased, unexplained AI.
Example Complex Harm: domestic violence made worse by surveillance, misappropriation and misuse of data collected by industrial parties.
Case Study 4: Online Disinformation
Example Complex Harm: voter manipulation through ‘fake news’, market manipulation and shaming or otherwise hurting individuals
