With ‘synthetic data’, Dubai has both privacy and value in mind

The Dubai government has digital transformation high up on its agenda and while data is key to any such initiative, it can come with a myriad of problems like privacy and security. The solution might lie in ‘synthetic data’, which uses artificial intelligence to create near-exact replicas of real-world data.

Digital Dubai, an arm of the government tasked with making the city a  globally leading digital economy, recently launched the Synthetic Data Implementation Framework, which it claims is a world-first. 

“More effective in protecting sensitive data than existing privacy preserving techniques, synthetic data can also be used to increase data volume and quality, as well as correcting for biases,” it said.

It further explained that datasets that once remained under lock and key because of privacy concerns can now be used to meet the ever-growing appetite for larger, higher quality data needed to train machine learning algorithms or test software applications.

Sara Al Zarooni, director of Data Management and Compliance Affairs, Digital Dubai, said “we are keen on managing the city data around Dubai, and we have a lot of value of data in our hands. So we would like to come up with a lot of insights. However, there is some tension between securing data and getting the value from this data as a lot of it is sensitive and synthetic data can help.”

Zarooni is a graduate from the first batch of the Dubai Leaders Programme, which was launched in 2020.

In an exclusive conversation with Business Recorder recently, she explained that “we keep the main structure of the data without touching the privacy or the sensitivity of the attribute that is included in the data.”

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In this way, Digital Dubai can utilise the data to come up with insights, provide services and “help the city to be seamlessly digitised and digitising the life of the citizen, tourists and residents”

Giving a real-world example, she said: “Let's say, we have detailed data about accidents in Dubai, and we know exactly the people who are doing these accidents. Using synthetic data, we can prove some policies and help the city leaders take better decisions without knowing who exactly the people are who have caused the accidents.”

“We kind of anonymised the data to extract, track the value of the data and get insights and improve services without touching people’s privacy.”

She also said Dubai is making this synthetic data tool available for anyone to use so, for example, government entities concerned about privacy can make use of it.

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The use of synthetic data is growing in areas such as mimicking customer behaviour to research financial products or using patient record data to advance public health systems, all the while maintaining patient confidentiality. 

Digital Dubai said its Synthetic Data Implementation Framework will help address critical questions which need to be answered to achieve the correct balance between innovation and privacy preservation.

His Excellency Hamad Obaid Al Mansoori, Director General of Digital Dubai, had earlier said: “Our interest in digital data stems from our awareness of its importance at this stage, where we are witnessing AI-powered technologies transforming every aspect of our lives. 

"Our recent efforts in that regard aim to overcome one of the main challenges to data usage, which is preserving the privacy of individuals and entities, while maximising benefit from available data.” 

Meanwhile, H.E. Younus Al Nasser, Assistant Director General of Digital Dubai, and CEO of Dubai Data Establishment, said synthetic data can help "build an integrated and thriving system that supports innovation in the field of data to create value and spearhead the transition towards a comprehensive, fully integrated smart digital life.”

“By processing this Synthetic Data, we can maintain confidentiality without compromising the valuable information contained in raw data. This, in turn, allows for advanced analysis, the creation of ever more advanced data-driven products and solutions.”