Data Governance Mapping Project Year 4

Washington: The Digital Trade and Data Governance Hub at the George Washington University is the only organization in the world that maps and analyzes the governance of various types of data in 68 countries and the EU. We created a metric of 26 indicators built on six attributes (ways of thinking about how data can be governed) to illuminate the current state of data governance. In this, our fourth year of reportage on data governance, we found.

• Data is increasingly important in the age of AI, yet data governance remains a ‘work in progress.’ Policymakers need to think systemically to develop and refine data governance institutions and strategies if they want to sustain trust in data and data-driven technologies. For example, they will need to find ways to ensure that the datasets underpinning AI are as accurate, complete and representative as possible.
• Middle income countries are making progress at data governance, but in general, the countries doing the most are the advanced industrial economies.
• Despite the worldwide interest in responsible AI, only 42% of our case studies have adopted responsible AI initiatives. However, we see governments paying greater attention to the data governance challenges posed by AI. In 2023, 6 additional case study countries adopted these initiatives.
• Most of the countries in our sample sought public comment on one or more of their data governance initiatives, yet these same countries did not, in general, respond to these comments. In many countries, data governance is not yet a fully democratic process—a feedback loop between the government and the governed.

The Hub is associated with the NSF-NIST Trustworthy AI Institute for Law and Society, housed at the University of Maryland and GWU. For more information on the report and for individual country data, go to https://globaldatagovernancemapping.org/