Building trust in the digital era: achieving Scotland's aspirations as an ethical digital nation

Frameworks and Concepts

Below are some of the key values and principles, already adopted by the Scottish Government, which ought to be considered when designing, deploying or using digital tools and services.

The National Performance Framework

Scotland’s National Performance Framework is a Scottish Government tool to help Scotland create a more successful country (Scottish Government, 2018). This includes giving opportunities to all people living in Scotland, increasing their wellbeing, creating sustainable and inclusive growth and reducing inequalities.

Guiding Scotland’s approach are a set of core values. These are:

• Treat all people with kindness, dignity and compassion
• Respect the rule of law
• Act in an open and transparent way

Positioning Scotland as an Ethical Digital Nation has the potential to impact across all of the National Performance Framework outcomes.

NPF Outcomes

• Human Rights - We respect, protect and fulfil human rights and live free from discrimination.

• Children & Young People - We grow up loved, safe and respected so that we realise our full potential.

• International - We are open, connected and make a positive contribution internationally.

• Communities - We live in communities that are inclusive, empowered, resilient and safe.

Objects of Trust Framework

Digital tools, products and services come in different forms and may have different functions, from the simple to the complex. They also vary in terms of who has designed or controls them, who they are targeted at, how much room for misuse there is, and what risks they present to safety, privacy, rights and freedoms. For this reason, it is not enough to ask if ‘digital’, meaning the people, the processes, the data and the technology related to digital, are trustworthy. There is a need to break the components of ‘digital’ down and consider how characteristics of trust relate to these components.

The Objects of Trust framework^[3] provides one way of helping to think about the various aspects of digital innovations or services that require our trust, and the types of questions asked of different entities when trying to establish their trustworthiness. Beyond being used as a technology and software assessment tool, this framework can also be used in the context of participatory consultation processes to take account of wider ethical considerations. A fundamental requirement of an ethical approach is to consider how you will take the public view into account. The Objects of Trust framework was a key mechanism used in the consultation process with members of the Digital Ethics Public Panel as a deliberative tool.

It draws on the principles seen in other guidelines related to digital and data ethics,^{[4] [5]} but in accessible language.

Technology

• Is it reliable?
• Is it robust?
• Is it safe?

Usefulness

• Is it necessary?
• Will it help?
• Is it worth it?

Privacy

• Is my information confidential?
• Are there Laws/ Regulations to protect me?

Choice

• Is it optional?
• Would not using it prevent me from doing important things?

Fairness

• Is it accessible to and useable by everyone who could benefit?
• Could it be used for discrimination?
• Is it exploitative?

Transparency

• Are the people behind it being truthful about its purposes and beneficiaries?
• Are there other motives?

Institutions

• Are systems in place to ensure effective governance, oversight, compliance and accountability?

Users

• Could it be misused to hurt others?
• Could it harm others?
• Could it inconvenience others?

The questions ask:

• Whether the technology itself can be trusted, in terms of reliability, robustness and safety;
• Whether it is necessary, proportionate and contributes to ‘net zero’, and therefore useful;
• Whether there are measures in place to protect privacy;
• Whether there is a choice about whether to use it;
• Whether it is fair, in that it’s available to anyone who might benefit and doesn’t lead to exploitation or discrimination;
• Whether the extent to which its true purposes are transparent and known;
• What institutions are being held to account for the design, build and operation of the technology, and finally;
• Whether there is the potential for some users to employ it in ways that harm or disadvantage others.

Individual objects of trust do not stand in isolation, and should be considered in relation to each other. Some of the questions will be more relevant to some digital issues than others. The questions can be adapted to a wide variety of situations. Some cases might warrant more of a deep-dive into a specific section, whereas others might benefit from a more holistic overview. The framework has been designed to support and facilitate productive discussions around the trustworthiness of various technologies.

The elements of the object of trust are linked to Scotland’s approach to Fairness, and align to the values of the National Performance Framework.

Applying the Objects of Trust Framework as an Ethics Tool

Throughout this report, the Objects of Trust framework will be referenced at the start of each chapter. The aim is to use the framework to prompt further discussion about the issues and examples raised, and to highlight how to start thinking about the variety of components that make up a ‘trustworthy’ digital tool, product or service, and how we can ensure that those who are developing and deploying them can be trusted.

The framework should empower people at all levels – individual, community, organisational and governmental – to ask questions of technology and to challenge how it is designed, deployed and used.

Supplementary Information:

Data – Data is the term widely used for the information that is collected, generated, stored for reference or analysis. In the context of this report, we are talking about data held on computers and other digital machines. Data can be a value or fact associated with an individual, the environment, the economy, or data can be generated as part of the operations of computer systems that power the digital world.

Technology – There is value in separating trust in technologies themselves, from their applications, users, data or governance. People do literally trust and rely on ‘things’, like assistive robots or apps but this is linked to belief in the resilience, robustness, safety and validity of those ‘things’. When these ‘things’ fail, so does trust and that break in trust goes beyond the technology itself and to the wider set of components that have contributed to that failure.

Usefulness – Sharing one’s information may be necessary to obtain the full benefits of a digital product or service. To help users decide what trade-offs they are willing to make between privacy and usefulness, organisations should explicitly state how this data will be used and the limits around its usage.

Privacy – It is key that there is clarity around what information will be shared, with whom, and for what purpose. Privacy policies need to be adequately explainable and accessible to users. Only the minimum necessary data should be captured and recorded. As well as due consideration on consent and anonymization.

Freedom of choice – Are citizens free to choose whether or not to participate and to what extent? Choosing not to provide information to certain companies, or in certain circumstances, can limit your ability to access products and services. For example, during the COVID-19 pandemic, digital vaccine certificates were essential for some international travel and many people therefore used them despite concerns about surveillance. A victim of cyber-bullying may resist calls to delete their social media account if this is also a vital communication tool and digital archive for them.

Fairness – with regards to availability and accessibility to anyone who might benefit (digital inclusion) and doesn’t lead to exploitation or discrimination; for example when data is used in algorithms there may be a risk that it is used in discriminatory ways, such as in automated CV screening processes, which draws scoring from previously successful applicants, thereby inheriting historical biases.

Transparency – The motives of the people and organisations driving the development of digital and data usage can influence trust in products and services. Transparency and clarity can be important to reduce perceived risks about adopting new digital services.

Institutions – This is about the authorities or agencies whose job it is to ensure the ethical oversight of digital services or projects. This may be government entities, or others (i.e. schools).

Users – This refers to other citizens who may be using the same platforms or technologies as you. In the case of digital contexts, there is concern that some people, such as anonymous trolls on Twitter, would misuse them to maliciously harm others. It is about recognising that bad actors may also be people like ourselves, and then deciding if we can still trust a digital service even when these risks are known.

Taking a Closer Look at ‘Fairness’: The ‘Four Fairs’

There are multiple ways to define “fairness” across different sectors of digital. The ‘Four Fairs’ outline priorities to embrace concrete practices, safeguards and monitoring mechanisms around access, equality, diversity, inclusion, awareness/education, uptake and engagement.

Fair Society

Ensuring that the benefits of digital innovation are equitable, inclusive and accessible to all. Enabling choice and control by the citizen and putting place preventions to digitally led discrimination. Fostering responsible and environmentally sustainable innovation. Protecting human rights.

Fair Economy

Fostering a thriving digital economy in Scotland that can create jobs, grow innovation and generate tax revenues, while prioritising business sectors and models that are ethical and benefit Scotland’s citizens. Ensuring transparency and accountability in digital procurement to ensure responsible guardianship of public finances and support sustainable services. Prioritising digital/data innovations that avoid environmental damage and contribute to a green future. Seeking for the benefits of digital work and business to reach all sectors of society.

Fair Technology

Avoiding digital technologies (including devices and platforms), methods and business models that are behaviourally or psychologically manipulative, unsecure, privacy invasive, financially or otherwise exploitative, or harmful or hurtful to individuals, groups or society. Being sensitive, responsible, proportionate and pro-social in the use of data. Ensuring legal and regulatory compliance, which intersects with ethics but is not the same.

Fair Government

Ensuring transparency, accountability, integrity and trustworthiness. Always prioritising the needs of the citizen and society. Making best use of public resources for public services. Promoting good-governance in the procurement of digital tools, services and research. Ensuring uses of technology and data to avoid discrimination. Promoting that digital policies, codes of practice, regulations and laws are ethically robust and actionable.

Trust as the Basis of a Thriving Digital Society

Scholars, policymakers and citizens’ advocacy groups are becoming broadly aligned around the understanding that public trust is the essential ingredient for a successful digital society. Alongside the National Performance Framework, this report refers to the Objects of Trust framework – which draws on multiple concepts and principles represented in the digital ethics literature. Initially developed to understand the tensions at play around the governance of apps and data infrastructure during COVID-19^[6], this recognises the different features (or objects) of a digital technology, service or programme which call for trust, each of which is linked to a set of questions that can be adapted for different problems. It considers aspects of the digital innovation, the individuals and organisations behind its development and procurement, the degree to which its purpose is sufficiently transparent, whether it is accessible and inclusive, whether it protects rights, whether it is legal, the integrity of its leaders, and the strength of the institutions responsible for its governance.

In work with the National Digital Ethics Public Panel, it was found that the Objects of Trust map well with the concerns, questions and priorities citizens spontaneously raise, and provides an accessible way of considering these issues at a general and specific level. It also maps with important UN goals for Sustainable Development, chiefly the need for strong institutions (SDG16) (United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, 2022), as the bedrock of good governance, referring to the ethical exercise of power in the interests of citizens or customers, and the prioritisation of efficient, effective, equitable, legal, inclusive, and participatory innovation. These also map to standards in public life and the civil service code of conduct, as has been illustrated by recent debates over procurement of technologies and services during the COVID-19 crisis.