The Ethics of Data Visualization

The Journalist, the Artist

and the Engineer
alberto cairo university of miami @albertocairo
a meandering journey begins
9-year old boy
How do you build a Hobbit hole in Minecraft?
9-year old boy
3-year old girl
Daddy, do you have a baby in your tummy?
3-year old girl
7-year old girl
Why dont planets stop spinning?
7-year old girl
wtf?
Google it, kiddo!
a visualization is a display of evidence
information shaped as a graphic
functions as a cognitive aid
a visualization is a display of evidence
OK, now I get it!
7-year old girl
But then, if planets spin so fast,why arent
we thrown off the Earth?
7-year old girl
Good answers lead to more good questions
and visualization (both data visualization and
infographics) can help ignite this process
The ethics of journalism depends on one core goal:
Improving the understanding that the public has of issues
that are relevant for their conducting good lives, while trying
to minimize the potential harm that this activity may cause
The ethics of journalism depends on one core goal:
Improving the understanding that the public has of issues
that are relevant for conducting good lives, while trying to
minimize the potential harm that this activity may cause
(And, by the way, its an utilitarian goal)
I believe that this shouldnt be just a journalistic goal anymore.
We should strive to make it a civic goal
human
understanding
learning
forces that
impede learning
The modern jungle
of spin, dishonesty,
punditry,
and the resulting
widespread mistrust
The promise of mainstream visualization
leads to the challenge of widespread bad habits
How do we teach good and ethical
visualization habits to the general public?
How to avoid being mislead by bad visualizations
How to contribute to the betterment of society
by designing good visualizations
How to use good visualizations to be well informed
http://blog.visual.ly/creating-infographic-start-finish/
Unfortunately, some of us are offering really bad advice
Unfortunately, some of us are offering really bad advice
http://blog.visual.ly/creating-infographic-start-finish/
What are the
features that define a
great infographic or
data visualization?
September 2012
alberto cairo
insightful
the
art
communication
with data, charts, maps,
and infographics
Beginning of 2016 September 2012
1. Truthful
2. Functional
3. Beautiful
4. Insightful
5. Enlightening
1. Truthful
2. Functional
3. Beautiful
4. Insightful
5. Enlightening
All of them have
ethical correlates
1. Truthful
2. Functional
3. Beautiful
4. Insightful
5. Enlightening
All of them have
ethical correlates
Be honest, and dont lie to yourself
Be clear, and encode the information
with appropriate graphic forms
Bring attention to relevant information
Reveal hidden truths
Dont forget that our primary goal is
to contribute as much as possible to
general understanding
1. Truthful
2. Functional
3. Beautiful
4. Insightful
5. Enlightening
The journalist, the engineer, the artist
Be honest, and dont lie to yourself
Be clear, and encode the information
with appropriate graphic forms
Bring attention to relevant information
Reveal hidden truths
Dont forget that our primary goal is
to contribute as much as possible to
general understanding
All of them have
ethical correlates
1. Truthful
2. Functional
3. Beautiful
4. Insightful
5. Enlightening
Be honest, and dont lie to yourself
All of them have
ethical correlates
Can we humans really be truthful or objective?
I avoid the word objective, which
suggests a mythical perfect state of truth.
Bill Keller
Human beings are not objectivity-driven
machines. We all intrinsically perceive and
process the world through subjective prisms.
What is the value in pretending otherwise?
Glenn Greenwald
Is Glenn Greenwald the Future of News?
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/28/opinion/a-
conversation-in-lieu-of-a-column.html
Who Rules in Science? James Robert Brown
But this is truer and more accurate
https://www.ncta.com/platform/public-policy/setting-the-record-straight-on-broadband-investment/
ORIGINAL BY: NCTA
Truthful, component 1: Dont lie in purpose
Side note:
Always mistrust
designers that
consciously hide
important data
Side note 2: Always
(1) Make your data
available,
and (2) explain your
methodology
But this is truer and more accurate This may be true
https://www.ncta.com/platform/public-policy/setting-the-record-straight-on-broadband-investment/
ORIGINAL BY: NCTA
But this is truer and more accurate
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This may be true
So, SO fishy
ORIGINAL BY: NCTA
Can we humans really be truthful or objective?
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(there are multiple ways of being
more or less objective)
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Now, lets suppose that each of these dots represents a
designer, or a graphic done by that designer
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The truthfulness continuum
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The same chart,
plus minimum
and median
speed
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The truthfulness continuum
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Everything mentioned
before, plus % of
people who have
access to each speed
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The truthfulness continuum
The same chart,
plus minimum
and median
speed
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A habit of skeptical thinking can be
transformed into a habit of visualization design
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A habit of skeptical thinking can be
transformed into a habit of visualization design
Increasing depth
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/28/upshot/medicare-not-such-a-budget-buster-anymore.html?abt=0002&abg=1&_r=0
NYTs The Upshot
What about adding a second chart that shows
Spending per recipient times number of recipients?
What about adding a second chart that shows
Spending per recipient times number of recipients?
We need
BOTH charts.
Thatd increase depth.

Either of them is true.
Both of them together
are truer
This is great and clear
design, and also a very
deep presentation
about a topic.
But its also a bad
infographic
But depth may not be enough
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A habit of skeptical thinking can be
transformed into a habit of visualization design
Increasing depth
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A habit of skeptical thinking can be
transformed into a habit of visualization design
Increasing depth
AND breadth
(or: How to explain
scientific strategies to people
without scaring them with
terms like regression)
Other
variables
Other
variables
The first principle is that you
must not fool yourself and you
are the easiest person to fool.
- Richard P. Feynman
Truthful, component 2: Dont lie to yourself
Kiev, Ukraine
Patternicity
Finding meaningful patterns even if they arent really there
The color of each circle represents what party won
more votes in the 2012 Parliamentary elections
Im about to show you a proportional symbol map
Party of Regions
(pro-Russian party)
Fatherland Party
(pro-Western)
All Textys visualization pojects: http://texty.org.ua/pg/blog/infoviz
texty.org.ua
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-25182823
BBC
The Washington Post
Its more complicated than that
If you were to publish the
maps in a Western publication
(whose audiences dont know
much about Ukraine,) youd
need to show at least the
results of the poll, too
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Its more complicated than that
Other
variables
Other
variables
Besides giving my daughter information,
was I also teaching them a deeper lesson?
Our minds are all we have.
They are all we have ever had.
And they are all we can offer others.
- Sam Harris, Waking Up
thank you
www.thefunctionalart.com
alberto cairo university of miami @albertocairo