IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2020 - 74

grading); data controllers (responsible for data
access, sharing, exchange, and storage); data scientists (responsible for AI, machine learning, and
a lgorithms); data valuation professionals; and
data auditors.

Online Standards Registry
As indicated earlier, standardization activities in this
sector are highly fragmented, to the point where there is
no pathway to quickly access relevant standards and
specifications related to a specific domain. One key
function of the DSTF would be to build and maintain a
comprehensive registry of standards and normative documents covering data value chains and data governance. This corpus is needed for working groups to
adopt/adapt existing standards, identify gaps, and determine which standards bodies are best situated to
undertake work on behalf of the DSTF.
A possible path forward to facilitate the upkeep of
the proposed registry would be to use e-evidence processes to generate listings of relevant documents that
could be reviewed by working groups. By inviting ICT
standards development organizations, consortia and
open source software development platforms to share
datasets, a knowledge base could be developed from
machine reading of unstructured text and presenting
relevant concepts through linked graphs of objects or
relationships. Datasets would include published codes,
standards, and specifications, as well as new work items
currently under development. Companies engaged in
natural language processing such as Nuix and Analytics360 have developed methods to support research in
sectors such as patent filing, litigation, or university
research publications [14], [15].

Machine Readable Standards
One of the major challenges of standards setting to support big data analytics will be to develop normative documents that can be read and interpreted by machines.
Machine readable standards will be necessary to introduce efficiency and automation in the standards development process and the development of new approaches
for the certification of intangibles by digital certification
processes involving algorithms [16]. In addition, a growing
number of nation states have begun to transfer legislation and regulation texts into machine readable formats.
Providing machine readable standards would be in line
with that trend [17].

Looking Forward
In the absence of a UN mandated organization to coordinate the development of data value chains and data
governance standards, nation states sharing similar values can create a regional mechanism to enhance digital

cooperation. The proposed Data Standards Task Force
could set the stage for the creation of a single data area
among participating jurisdictions. Standardized data
collaboration platforms, sourced with multiple datasets
from participating jurisdictions, could shed new insights
on persistent problems and benefit humanity.

Acknowledgment
This paper is a condensed and revised version of CIGI's
paper entitled Standards for Digital Cooperation. Reproduced with permission.

Author Information
The author is with the Center for International Governance Innovation, Waterloo, Ont., Canada. Email:
m.girard@cigi.ca.

References
[1] B. Marr, "How much data do we create every day? The mind-blowing stats
everyone should read," Forbes, May 21, 2018; https://www.forbes.com/
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-mind-blowing-stats-everyone-should-read/#73555d5660ba.
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[8] M. Girard, "Big data analytics need standards to thrive," CIGI, Waterloo,
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[10] ITU, "Plan of Action," World Summit on the Information Society, no. WSIS03, Dec. 12, 2003; http://www.itu.int/net/wsis/docs/geneva/official/poa.html.
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[12] P. Leblond, S. A. Aaronson, and A. Plurilateral, "Single Data Area," Is the
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[14] Nuix, "See the total picture in the midst of data chaos," EDISCOVERY,
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[16] CSA Group, "The Digital Age: Exploring the role of Standards for data governance, Artificial Intelligence and emerging platforms," Mississauga, Ont., May
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[17] J. Mohun and C. Considine, "Exploring opportunities for digital legislation,
policy, and rules," Australian Government, Apr. 10, 2019; https://www.dta.gov
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IEEE TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY MAGAZINE

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JUNE 2020

https://www.forbes.com/sites/bernardmarr/2018/05/21/how-much-data-do-we-create-every-day-the-mind-blowing-stats-everyone-should-read/#73555d5660ba https://www.forbes.com/sites/bernardmarr/2018/05/21/how-much-data-do-we-create-every-day-the-mind-blowing-stats-everyone-should-read/#73555d5660ba https://www.forbes.com/sites/bernardmarr/2018/05/21/how-much-data-do-we-create-every-day-the-mind-blowing-stats-everyone-should-read/#73555d5660ba https://www.unctad.org/en/PublicationsLibrary/der2019_en.pdf https://www.statista.com/statistics/471264/iot-number-of-connected-devices-worldwide/ http://www.statista.com https://www.statista.com/statistics/471264/iot-number-of-connected-devices-worldwide/ http://www.intel.com https://www.intel.com/content/dam/www/public/us/en/images/iot/guide-to-iot-infographic.png https://www.intel.com/content/dam/www/public/us/en/images/iot/guide-to-iot-infographic.png https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/ http://www.un.org/en/pdfs/DigitalCooperation-report-for%20web.pdf http://www.itu.int/net/wsis/docs/background/resolutions/56_183_unga_2002.pdf http://www.itu.int/net/wsis/docs/background/resolutions/56_183_unga_2002.pdf http://www.itu.int/net/wsis/docs/geneva/official/poa.html https://www.llodo.com/technology/time-for-global-cooperation-on-governing-digital-technology-nikkei-asian-review.html https://www.llodo.com/technology/time-for-global-cooperation-on-governing-digital-technology-nikkei-asian-review.html https://www.llodo.com/technology/time-for-global-cooperation-on-governing-digital-technology-nikkei-asian-review.html https://www.nuix.com/solutions/ediscovery https://www.colorado.edu/oda/analytics360 https://www.colorado.edu/oda/analytics360 https://www.dta.gov.au/blogs/exploring-opportunities-digital-legislation-policy-and-rules https://www.dta.gov.au/blogs/exploring-opportunities-digital-legislation-policy-and-rules

IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2020

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