Explanations as Discourse Towards Ethical Big Data Analytics Services

Big data analytics uses algorithms for decision-making and targeting of customers. These algorithms process large-scale data sets and create efficiencies in the decision-making process for organizations but are often incomprehensible to customers and inherently opaque in nature. Recent European Unio...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	AJIS. Australasian journal of information systems Vol. 24
Main Authors:	Afrashteh, Sadaf, Someh, Ida, Davern, Michael
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	Wollongong Australasian Association for Information Systems 01-01-2020
Subjects:	Algorithms Big Data Customers Data analysis Decision analysis Decision making Empirical analysis Organizations
Online Access:	Get full text
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Summary:	Big data analytics uses algorithms for decision-making and targeting of customers. These algorithms process large-scale data sets and create efficiencies in the decision-making process for organizations but are often incomprehensible to customers and inherently opaque in nature. Recent European Union regulations require that organizations communicate meaningful information to customers on the use of algorithms and the reasons behind decisions made about them. In this paper, we explore the use of explanations in big data analytics services. We rely on discourse ethics to argue that explanations can facilitate a balanced communication between organizations and customers, leading to transparency and trust for customers as well as customer engagement and reduced reputation risks for organizations. We conclude the paper by proposing future empirical research directions.
ISSN:	1449-8618 1449-8618 1326-2238
DOI:	10.3127/ajis.v24i0.2519