The Spanish observatory for big data, artificial intelligence and data analytics (BIDA) studies the possibility of a business-to-government (B2G) data sharing initiative to provide future insights on climate change to policymakers.
BIDA consists of around 20 large enterprises and public bodies and is a forum for sharing AI and big data experiences between peers. It currently has two working groups, one on B2G data sharing and another on AI ethics. The B2G data-sharing working group is looking into the possibilities to combine public and privately held data (duly anonymised and aggregated) of its members into a common data lake to provide access to recognised climate change experts and data scientists. BIDA believes that this would be the first time business data would be shared for the common good on such a large scale.
Applying AI and machine learning to this unique data set has the potential to uncover so-far-unknown insights about the relation between economic activities and potential measures to reduce climate change. The value of B2G data sharing to help solve large societal challenges is well recognised by relevant players such as the European Commission and TheGovLab. However, this practice is currently mostly happening in pilot mode. One of the key success factors for B2G data-sharing initiatives is that, from the beginning, potential final users are involved and commit to putting the system in operation if the results of a first pilot are successful.
BIDA has taken the opportunity of the Climate Change Summit in Madrid (COP25) to start conversations with policymakers and climate change experts to evaluate the opportunity of this unique initiative.
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