CDEI case studies
CDEI · Put your knowledge to work in context.
The Certified Data Ethics Expert (CDEI) is a professional credential for people who make, review, or oversee decisions about how data is collected, used, shared, and automated. Candidates typically come from data science and analytics, privacy and compliance, product management, research, and AI governance roles. The exam tests judgment as much as recall: expect scenario-based multiple-choice items that ask you to choose the most defensible course of action when principles conflict, such as a fairness fix that degrades accuracy or a transparency request that exposes personal data. Coverage is organized around eight domains: foundations of data ethics; ethical frameworks and theories; privacy and confidentiality; bias, fairness, and equity; data governance and stewardship; transparency, explainability, and accountability; the regulatory and legal landscape; and applied ethics in AI and analytics. The CDEI case studies are 5 cases and about 2,876 words.
1The Churn Model That Leaks a Protected Class
A telecom company deploys a churn-prediction model that scores every subscriber monthly. The model uses 240 features, including ZIP code, device type, and average monthly data usage.
582 words, about 3 min2Consent Fatigue in a Research Data Repository
A university health system operates a research data repository holding records for 1.2 million patients. The original consent form, signed between 2014 and 2017, authorized 'research use by university investigators.' In 2025 the university wants to share de-identified extracts with three external pharma partners and to train a foundation model on the records.
550 words, about 3 min3The Hiring Screener With a Clean Audit and a Dirty Pipeline
A mid-sized logistics firm uses a third-party resume-screening tool to rank applicants for warehouse supervisor roles. The vendor's audit shows no disparate impact by race or gender at the 0.8 four-fifths threshold.
584 words, about 3 min4The Explainability Request That Exposes the Model's Weakness
A regional bank uses a gradient-boosted model to approve or decline small-business credit lines up to $150,000. A denied applicant, a bakery owned by a recent immigrant, requests an explanation.
604 words, about 3 min5The Public Dashboard That Overstates Its Confidence
A city health department publishes a public dashboard showing neighborhood-level rates of a chronic condition. The dashboard uses small-area estimation because some neighborhoods have fewer than 50 cases.
556 words, about 3 min