Professor Eran Tal from the Department of Philosophy has had his Canada Research Chair in Data Ethics renewed by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. The CRC in Data Ethics was established in 2019 and is dedicated to the study of the ethical and social dimensions of data collection and data use in scientific research, healthcare and policy.
Professor Tal was thrilled by the renewal of his Chair and is especially glad to be able to continue to support and train the excellent research students and postdocs in his research group.
Through his research chair, Professor Tal co-founded the Society for the Study of Measurement (SSM), an interdisciplinary academic society for scientists, philosophers and historians that promotes research on measurement across disciplines.
“Early in my career, I was lucky to meet other researchers who were similarly enthusiastic about the history and philosophy of measurement,” says Professor Tal. “We started organizing events and co-authoring papers, and more people joined. The SSM grew organically from these collaborations and was officially founded in 2022.”
This June, the SSM will be hosting its biennial conference, which will take place at the University of Edinburgh.
“One of the ideas we will examine is the belief that good measurement is a guide to truth,” says Professor Tal. “It is intuitive to think that reliable clocks and thermometers tell you something about nature independently of how scientists measure it. Machine learning researchers sometimes call the measurement data they use to train their models ‘ground truths’. Yet we know that measurement involves a variety of theoretical and statistical assumptions and depends on human interpretation. The theme of 'ground truth and validity' is an invitation to explore this tension.”
Since 2024, Professor Tal has held a role as a member of Statistics Canada’s Advisory Council on data ethics. Through his CRC in Data Ethics, Tal advises Canada’s Chief Statistician on ways to track and minimize risks to the safety and privacy of Canadians.
“Statistics Canada strives to provide Canadians with reliable and up-to-date data on almost every aspect of life, from demographic and economic data to health and environmental data,” says Professor Tal. “Delivering reliable information to policy makers and the public is crucial, especially in the age of widespread misinformation and disinformation. Statistics Canada is currently undertaking a significant technological and administrative shift that will modernize the way it collects and provides access to data, and the challenge is doing all this in a manner that does not create significant risks to safety and privacy and does not perpetuate biases and social inequalities.”
“It is fascinating work and a chance to make positive change,” adds Professor Tal.
Professor Tal is currently working on a new book that will explain why measurement is usually a better source of scientific evidence than some other methods, such as data-driven modelling and computer simulation.
Professor Tal is also focusing his efforts on a project concerning patient-reported mental health measurement, collaborating with a youth mental health service in British Columbia.
“I am developing a framework I’m calling ‘Responsible Measurement’ that helps mental health service providers adapt their data collection procedures to the specific patient population they serve and the treatments they offer,” says Tal.
Learn more about Professor Tal’s research and work as the CRC in Data Ethics here.