Every time we go online, we leave something behind.
A search. A location. A voice note. A photo. A purchase. A moment of hesitation before we click.
On their own, these traces seem harmless. Together, they form something powerful: data. And data is the fuel that makes artificial intelligence (AI) work.
Every AI system — every recommendation, every prediction, every generated sentence — is built on vast amounts of information collected from people. Which leads to a question that sits quietly beneath our entire digital age, and that far too few of us are invited to ask.
Who owns the data?
And just as importantly: who decides how it is used, who benefits from it, and who is left out of that decision entirely?
At Action Lab for Development (ACTLAB), we believe these questions are not just technical or legal. They are questions of fairness, dignity, and power. And the people most affected by the answers are often those least included in the conversation.
Let us bring that conversation into the open.
Why Data Is the New Foundation of Power
Data has been called the oil of the digital economy. The comparison is imperfect, but the point stands: data has enormous value.
It trains the AI tools we use. It shapes the advertisements we see, the prices we are offered, the news that reaches us, and increasingly, the decisions made about our loans, our job applications, and our access to services.
The organisations that collect and control this data hold real power. They can understand behaviour, predict choices, and influence outcomes at a scale no previous generation could imagine.
This is not inherently sinister. Data can improve healthcare, strengthen education, and help communities solve real problems. The United Nations notes that AI, powered by data, can accelerate progress in development when it is used responsibly.
But power without accountability is always a risk. And when it comes to data, that power is concentrated in remarkably few hands.
The Privacy Question We Rarely Ask
Most of us have agreed to terms and conditions we never read.
We tap “Accept.” We move on. And in that moment, we often hand over more than we realise — our location history, our contacts, our habits, sometimes our biometric information.
Privacy is not about having something to hide. It is about having the right to control what is known about us, and by whom.
International frameworks are beginning to catch up. The European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) has set a global benchmark for data rights, giving people more control over their personal information. UNESCO’s Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence explicitly calls for privacy to be protected throughout the AI life cycle. The OECD likewise names transparency and accountability as core principles of trustworthy AI.
These are important steps. But protections are uneven across the world, and enforcement is often weakest exactly where people are most vulnerable.
The Communities Left Out of the Conversation
Here is the part that too often goes unspoken.
The debate about data and privacy tends to be led by wealthy nations, large corporations, and technical experts. Meanwhile, the communities whose data is collected — and whose lives are shaped by the resulting AI — are frequently absent from the table.
This creates several deep imbalances.
Data is extracted, but value flows elsewhere. Information gathered from communities in the Global South often trains AI systems built and monetised elsewhere. The people who generated the data rarely share in its benefits.
Systems are trained on others’ realities. When AI is built primarily on data from certain regions, languages, and populations, it understands those groups best and everyone else less well, quietly reinforcing exclusion.
Consent is often not truly informed. Where digital literacy is still growing, “agreeing” to data collection may happen without any real understanding of what is being given away, or why it matters.
Rules are made without representation. Global conversations about data governance frequently proceed without meaningful input from the very communities most affected by them.
The United Nations Development Programme has warned that unmanaged data and AI practices risk creating new forms of inequality between and within societies. When people have no voice in how their data is used, technology stops serving them and starts acting upon them.
That is not development. It is dependency.
What Fair Data Practice Looks Like
The situation is not hopeless. A fairer digital future is possible, and its principles are clear.
Transparency. People deserve to know what data is collected, how it is used, and who benefits. Clarity should be the default, not the exception.
Genuine consent. Agreement must be informed and freely given, which means investing in the digital literacy that makes real understanding possible.
Inclusion. Communities should have a voice in how their data is governed, not simply be subjects of decisions made elsewhere.
Shared benefit. When data from a community helps build valuable technology, that value should flow back to the community in some meaningful form.
Accountability. Those who collect and use data must be answerable for how they do so, with real protections for the people involved.
These principles turn data from something taken from people into something used with and for them.
Where Ethics Becomes Essential
Beneath every data decision lies an ethical one.
The important question is no longer only can we collect and use this data? It is should we, on what terms, and who does it truly serve?
Asking that question consistently is what keeps innovation honest and humane.
This is why ACTLAB created MoralityCode AI, a platform designed to help individuals, educators, and entrepreneurs think ethically as they engage with artificial intelligence. Rather than encouraging blind acceptance of how technology works, it invites reflection through simple but powerful questions:
- Is this fair to everyone it affects?
- Does it respect human dignity and privacy?
- Who benefits from this data, and who might be excluded or exposed?
- Could there be unintended consequences for my community?
These are exactly the questions that help people move from passive subjects of data collection to informed, empowered participants in the digital world.
You can explore this approach through the MoralityCode AI platform, available free in all major app stores.
Reclaiming a Seat at the Table
At Action Lab for Development, our mission is to empower individuals and communities with the knowledge, skills, and opportunities they need to thrive. In a world increasingly shaped by data, that mission takes on new meaning.
Empowerment now includes helping people understand their digital rights. It includes building the literacy to give real consent. It includes advocating for communities to be present in the decisions that affect them. And it includes insisting that technology be built with people, not simply from them.
Because the question “Who owns the data?” is really a question about who owns the future.
The answer should not belong to a powerful few.
It should belong to all of us, especially those who have been left out of the conversation for too long.
It is time to invite them back in.
References
- United Nations. Artificial Intelligence. https://www.un.org/en/global-issues/artificial-intelligence
- European Commission. Data Protection in the EU (GDPR). https://commission.europa.eu/law/law-topic/data-protection_en
- UNESCO. Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence. https://www.unesco.org/en/artificial-intelligence/recommendation-ethics
- OECD. Artificial Intelligence. https://www.oecd.org/en/topics/artificial-intelligence.html
- United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Digital. https://www.undp.org/digital
Photo by Pexels.com/ Nemuel Sereti