Datasphere

The term 'datasphere' is used as a spatial metaphor. For instance, it was adopted by the GEODE Center, a research and training center that studies "the strategic and geopolitical issues of the digital revolution".[9] The GEODE's objective is twofold. On one hand, it seeks to study the datasphere as a geopolitical "object in its own right".[9] On the other hand, it uses the resources of the datasphere to conduct geopolitical analyses. As part of its research work, the Center has developed a cartography of the datasphere,[10] where there is not only a focus on regional approaches to the digital space, data flows, logical and physical routes, and social networks, but also to the power distribution across geographies.

Both Floridi[8] and Bergé et al.[7] see these new spheres as 'spaces we inhabit': architectures and ecosystems affecting the way daily life is lived. For Bergé in particular, the spatial metaphor of the datasphere highlights the way in which datafication reconfigures relations between "conventional institutional territories (.e.g. States, towns, international and regional organizations)",[7] and "gives rise to new territories".[7] For some authors, the idea of 'living in the datasphere' brings to mind the 'public sphere',[4] and the 'Hobbes's bargain'[11] through which public institutions are arguably grounded, albeit more shakily so as expansion of an unregulated datasphere undermines classical institutions authority and effectiveness.

As the datasphere seems to be more and more perceived as an ecosystem and space we inhabit, new collective data governance frameworks have also arisen across the globe. These frameworks might replicate some datasphere elements in their design systems. For example, new governance tools such as data commons, data trusts, cooperatives, collaboratives, data pools, among others can all be tools used to navigate the datasphere and do so collectively – thus enhancing its complexity –.

The datasphere could also be understood as a natural ecosystem. Just as it happens in nature – where energy flows and there is an ongoing cycle among ecosystems – the datasphere is an ecosystem where fast-paced and complex data flows. Governance efforts are nowadays focusing on leveraging free data flows while ensuring the protection of different human groups. As much as data flows naturally, innovative rules are needed to allow for the cycles to flow and guarantee that the environment as a whole and its sub-systems are protected.

The notion of datasphere is related to that of cyberspace, which describes a widespread interconnected digital technology. The datasphere encompasses the notion of cyberspace, while adding layers of complexity, namely human groups and norms. In addition, the datasphere does not only consider digital technologies, but the different data flows produced in a hyperconnected society.

The datasphere, according to the Datasphere Initiative, was first conceptualized in the paper "We Need To Talk About Data: Framing the Debate Around the Free Flow of Data and Data Sovereignty" by Bertrand De La Chapelle and Lorrayne Porciuncula (2021).[12] The Datasphere Initiative has since coined the datasphere "as the complex system encompassing all types of data and their dynamic interactions with human groups and norms".[12]

This formula essentially draws attention to the mutually co-constituted nature of digital artifacts (datasets), constituencies and social relationships (human groups) and rules and social expectations (norms) - and to the multiplicity of each. At the same time, it stops short of detailed specification of datasets, human groups or norms, and leaves open the question of how the interaction of these should be governed.

• Datasets: All digital data including personal and non-personal, private, and public as presented in datasets which are classified differently depending on sector, use-case, or agreed standard.[13]
• Human groups: "Individuals and human groups of all sorts generate, collect, store, process, exchange, make accessible or access, analyze, and use data for various purposes."[13]
• Norms: Cultural, legal, and technical norms "including high-level principles, international agreements, laws and regulatory frameworks, but also contracts, licenses or terms of service, and even code, standards, and software underpinning technical systems (including that of supporting infrastructures)."[13]

The Datasphere Initiative's definition of the datasphere seeks to find connections between contexts and look for policy and governance strategies that may not arise from a focus on embedded local contexts. The concept of human groups, for example, implicitly points to groups that are potentially co-constituted by data infrastructures, and may exist across conventional boundaries of geography and polity. A recognition of both global norms, and a global plurality of norms, calls for governance approaches that have appropriate levels of flexibility and adaptability. The model implies governance of one interconnected datasphere, not many isolated instances.

Just as it can be discussed of the atmosphere, and some local atmospheric conditions, it can be talked about the datasphere, and of how it is experienced quite differently in different spaces and settings:

"The Datasphere (...) is a complex adaptive system, exhibiting the well-documented characteristics of such systems, including: a large number of interconnected agents, non-linear impacts of their actions, positive and negative feedback loops, unintended consequences, structural unpredictability, emergence and path dependencies."[13]

The concept of the datasphere has already been applied to several publications and studies related to health. The medical datasphere was a concept adopted by Jérôme Béranger (2016) to talk about Big Data and ethics, and the impact on medical paradigms such as the Hippocratic Oath.[6] Moreover, the Center for Clinical and Translational Science from the University of Kentucky launched its web-based application for researchers to explore de-identified patient data, which they called the DataSphere.[14] Efforts to govern the datasphere to leverage its power for health has also been explored by some researchers. Patient-centric approaches, for example, have been highlighted as necessary for data governance in the healthcare sector.[15]

Across the globe, the concept of the datasphere has been gaining importance and prevalence. In Africa, for example, the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA) referred to the different "data spheres" that could emerge to replicate the models created for agriculture in other sectors, such as mobile services.[16] The concept was also adopted by researchers mapping livestock population with data from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Statistical Database (FAOSTAT).[17] It was used to name a software in Germany in 2022 that helps to optimize irrigation by data-driven decisions.[18]

As one of the most pressing issues nowadays, climate change is one of the topics related to the governance of the datasphere. Companies are increasingly seeking to adopt sustainable models when it comes to data sharing. Seagate, an American data storage company, has framed its approach towards "advancing a more sustainable datasphere",[19] by which they seek to power their global footprint with 100% renewable energy by 2030 and to achieve carbon neutrality by 2040.[19] In addition, several organizations tackling climate change base themselves on the Worldwide IDC Global DataSphere Forecast, 2022–2026, a series of documents written by the International Data Corporation (IDC) that predicts that by 2025, the Global Datasphere will grow from 33 Zettabytes (ZB) in 2018 to 175 ZB by 2025, and to double in size from 2022 to 2026.[20]

Since the datasphere contains data from and about different human groups, ensuring that it is diverse and equitable is fundamental to break gender bias within the datasphere.[21] Diversity has been highlighted as key for effective and future-oriented data management,[22] and thus for a more inclusive datasphere. Companies such as Seagate have also pointed to the importance of crafting an inclusive datasphere, not only in terms of gender but ethnicity, nationalities, etc.[23] In fact, gender data and gender data governance are highly promoted nowadays, as well as adopting data management and data governance frameworks that adopt inclusive perspectives.[24]

The datasphere is related to the recent metaverse developments. Although this emerged as a science fiction concept, the metaverse is nowadays real thanks to the developments of different private and big tech companies, as well as other actors. The existence and increasing use of metaverse spaces has been highly criticized, and people around the world have expressed their concerns about governance within the datasphere, as well as access to it. Several researchers have insisted that there is a link between the efforts to govern the datasphere and the regulation of the metaverse,[25] which will change the language of regulation and potentially create new digital rights.[26]