The development of knowledge technologies has implicated every institution of importance — from the exchange markets, banking, and business, through research, education, and the media, to medicine, policing, jurisprudence, and even the future of the democratic process itself. With the potential civil and political consequences of data's abuse so severe, and yet the conjectured benefits meaningful enough that it would be wrong not to try to navigate these risks, seldom has the need for effective dialogue been as great.

The World Ethical Data Foundation works to facilitate the understanding and collaboration of people and institutions of all perspectives, traditions, and cultures, and prioritises the development of more effective ways for this understanding and collaboration to occur.