New data sources and computational approaches on migration and human mobility

Abstract

Human migration and mobility is one of the most important societal issues of our time, with wide-ranging implications, and for which it is difficult to obtain timely insights. Policy makers require multi-faceted and accurate insights for implementing actions to ensure the well-being of populations. Recent advances in sensor technologies and data scientific tools allow observation of humans and their environment at great detail, and at great granularity. New data sources, such as mobile phones, digital applications, social media, and satellites are used for creating timely and detailed insights into human mobility, which is especially important for humanitarian crises that accompany some of these movements. However, there are also risks of surveillance at an unprecedented scale, loss of privacy, and unexpected changes to power structures. In this work, we provide an overview of the potential benefits and risks, as well as challenges of using big data analysis for migration and mobility.