The term has been in my LinkedIn headline for a while now. But what do I actually mean by an ethical data firm?
For many people, summer is a time for reflection, a moment to take a step back. For me, this was even more true than usual this year. In August 2024, I broke my ankle. The year that followed was one of physical recovery, but also of personal transformation.
During the many walks I took as part of my rehabilitation, I often found myself wondering: how is it that at i-spark we have such a clear internal culture, yet externally it sometimes feels complex to put into words? Weโve always been deeply people-focused. But nearly every company claims that. So what makes us genuinely able to say it? What exactly sets us apart?
This summer, I believe I found the missing piece of that puzzle.
Whatโs been part of i-sparkโs DNA for years, something weโve always felt internally, Iโve now defined explicitly: an ethical framework. An attempt to capture the essence of what we believe in.
Itโs built on three pillars:
๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฝ๐ต๐ถ๐น๐ผ๐๐ผ๐ฝ๐ต๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐น โ the moral convictions that guide our choices: integrity, transparency, and responsibility.
๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐ต๐๐บ๐ฎ๐ป โ how we treat each other, our clients, and our work: harmony, empathy, and physical & mental wellbeing.
๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐น โ how we make decisions day to day: craftsmanship, commitment, and reliability.
These three pillars are broad and not tied specifically to data or AI. Even if we were running a bicycle factory, our principles would likely be the same.
Given our work in data and AI, Iโve expanded the framework to include three themes I believe are central to ethical and responsible practice in our field:
– ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ (Risk, Security, Governance) in the broadest sense
– ๐๐ฎ๐๐ฎ ๐พ๐๐ฎ๐น๐ถ๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ถ๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ด๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐
– ๐๐ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐น๐ถ๐๐: working solutions without the hype
In the coming months, my colleagues and I will be sharing more about what these values and themes mean to us in practice, as a way of inviting reflection and dialogue.
If it resonates, inspires, or simply feels familiar to you, then it is already serving its purpose. ๐
