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Gry Hasselbalch is an author and scholar with expertise in the social and ethical implications of big data and artificial intelligence (AI). She has spent nearly two decades researching and writing about technology politics, ethics, and digital human rights.

AI and European Governance

Gry has been appointed as an independent expert on numerous occasions by various international institutions and governments, including the European Research Council and the previous Danish government’s first Data Ethics Expert Committee. She served as a member of the EU High Level Expert Group on AI that developed EU’s AI ethics guidelines contributing directly to the EU’s AI strategy.

She is the Research Lead and Senior Key Expert in the EU’s International Outreach for a Human-Centric Approach to Artificial Intelligence initiative (InTouchAI.eu) that supports the European Commission in engaging with international partners on regulatory and ethical matters and promoting the responsible development of trustworthy AI at global level. As Senior Key Expert she has contributed directly to e.g. the Paris Peace Forum, COP27, World Expo 2020 and directly as member on the EU side of the working groups developing and implementing the EU-US Technology & Trade Council Joint Roadmap on Trustworthy AI and Risk Assessment.

Data Ethics

In 2015, she co-founded the think tank DataEthics.eu, where she currently serves as Director of Research leading the thinktank’s academic activities, and in 2021 she founded the Data Pollution & Power Initiative at the University of Bonn’s Institute of Science and Ethics’ Sustainable AI Lab.

Books and Talks

Gry has written several articles, reports, and books on the ethics and power dynamics of big data and AI, and frequently gives keynote speeches and presentations on these topics worldwide. Her latest critically acclaimed book Data Ethics of Power – A Human Approach in the Big Data and AI Era, published with Edward Elgar in 2021, provides an historical overview of the development of an ethical governance approach to data and AI as well as a framework for studying their power dynamics. The book Data Ethics- The New Competitive Advantage (Hasselbalch & Tranberg) published in 2016 in Danish and English was one of the early books to describe not only the privacy implications of big data business practices, but the broader social and ethical implications.

Youth and online technologies

Previously, she was a driving force in the field of youth online protection and empowerment in the pan European network of national centres in 30 EU countries, Insafe. She was here active at the UN Internet Governance Fora (IGF) around the world among others establishing the Global Privacy as Innovation Network at the 2013 IGF.

She has a M.A. in Communications and Cultural Studies from Goldsmith’s College, University of London and a PhD in data ethics from the University of Copenhagen.

Humanism in Data and AI

Gry’s work aims to advocate a humanist approach to AI and data, highlighting the critical role of humanity in navigating the challenges posed by these technologies. While there is a tendency to rely solely on technological solutions, human power stands out as unpredictable, disorderly, and self-reflective, offering the ability to adapt, challenge authority, and create new possibilities. By better understanding the specific characteristics of humanity, we can unlock its potential to offer new solutions to real-world social problems.