On Wednesday, October 28, 2015, the Strauss Center welcomed Dr. Patrick Meier to speak at the University of Texas about his work on mapping complex international crises and developing technology to track humanitarian data. More specifically, Patrick’s lecture discussed approaches in crowdsourcing crisis data. In today’s society, big data extends beyond traditional data sources and includes multi-media content such as twitter and Facebook postings as well as photos.

Despite the benefits of having access to a multitude of data at just the click of a mouse, this abundance of data proves problematic when attempting to differentiate between useful and significant vs insignificant data. Patrick and colleagues created a forum where cyber volunteers can undertake this task of sifting through tweets, pictures, etc. micromanaging the data. For example, volunteers (which he calls digital jedis) may be shown a picture of crumbled building as a result of an earthquake and be asked to rate the damage on a scale of 1-5 in order to determine which areas are most in need of immediate assistance.

Patrick also discussed the use of aerial sensors for crisis mapping. Individual communities are already making use of this technology: for example, and indigenous community in the amazon built their own personal drone to monitor deforestation near their house.

A variety of ethical issues can arise when dealing with mapping vulnerable communities. Thus, Patrick concluded his talk with a brief discussion of how his company has accounted for this while still making maps public. For example, a 24 hour time delay is set on any risk analysis maps that get published, and any personal identification is eliminated prior to publication. Many of the crisis maps never get published, as the information could be detrimental if it fell into the wrong hands.

Patrick is currently Director of Social Innovation at QCRI where he works with experts in advanced computing to develop Next Generation Humanitarian Technologies. During major disasters, he deploys these innovative solutions at the request of international humanitarian organizations. Patrick serves on the Innovation Team of the UN Secretary-General’s World Humanitarian Summit (WHS) and co-founded the Digital Humanitarian Network (DHN) with the UN, which has been described as one of the most innovative humanitarian initiatives in the past 10 years. Patrick also co-founded the International CrisisMappers Network and the award-winning Standby Task Force (SBTF), both early and notable pioneers of digital humanitarian action. In addition, Patrick is an internationally sought-out speaker, having given over 200 talks in more than 20 countries across 6 continents. He has spoken at the White House, UN, Google, Twitter, Harvard, Stanford, MIT, Skoll World Forum, Club de Madrid, Mobile World Congress, PopTech, TTI/Vanguard, SXSW and several TEDx’s.

Add to My Calendar