The Promise and Peril of our 'Data-Driven Society'

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MSI
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The Promise and Peril of our 'Data-Driven Society'

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Feb 26, 2013: NY Times The Promise and Peril of our 'Data-Driven Society'
  • So almost everyone has a smartphone, and what does that do for you and society? It builds a digital archive of data on YOU.
    And what is the most important data that is available about YOU? Information about your behavior.
    What you look at on the web, what you buy, everything. Throw in your use of a credit card and Big Brother know a lot about YOU.
    Can all this data change policy decisions? Will policy making will become more of a science?
This and other related topics were discussed at a recent gathering at M.I.T. Media Lab hosted by Alex Pentland, a computational social scientist at the Media Lab. He put his intellectual stake in the ground last year in a presentation posted on Edge.org, REINVENTING SOCIETY IN THE WAKE OF BIG DATA
MSI
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Re: The Promise and Peril of our 'Data-Driven Society'

Post by MSI »

March 11, 2013: NY Times: Digital Era Redefining Etiquette
    • voice mails are out! - they waste too much time!
    • text messages are IN! but don't ask me for anything you can find yourself with google!
    • DON'T ask for weather forecast, directions, store's hours,
    NO unnecessary communications! Don't waste my time!
    In this day and age the adage that the young learn from the old is flipped on it's head when it comes to digital communications!
See the article Digital Era Redefining Etiquette
MSI
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Re: The Promise and Peril of our 'Data-Driven Society'

Post by MSI »

March 24, 2013: NY Times: Big Data is Opening Doors, but Maybe Too Many
Since the dawn of the digital age, 1960's mainframe computers, people have feared that new complicated data banks would be put into service of big government and big business to pry and spy on all of us.
The internet and the leap in data collections is raiing new concerns about infringements on privacy.
From the World Economic Forum comes the report: Unlocking the Value of Personal Data:From Collection to Usage
And from the Executive summary of the report:
  • Our world is changing. It is complex, hyperconnected, and increasingly driven by insights derived from big data. And the rate of change shows no sign of slowing. Nor does the volume of data show any sign of shrinking. But, the economic and social value of big data does not come just from its quantity. It also comes from its quality – the ways in which individual bits of data can be interconnected to reveal new insights with the potential to transform business and society. Fully tapping that potential holds much promise, and much risk. By themselves, technology and data are neutral. It is their use that can both generate great value and create significant harm, sometimes simultaneously.
    This requires a rethink of traditional approaches to data governance, particularly a shift from focusing away from trying to control the data itself to focusing on the uses of data. It is up to the individuals and institutions of various societies to govern and decide how to unlock the value – both economic and social – and ensure suitable protections.
    As part of the multiyear initiative Rethinking Personal Data, the World Economic Forum hosted an ongoing multistakeholder dialogue on personal data throughout 2012 (See Figure 1 for more details). This dialogue invited perspectives from the US, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East and involved representatives of various social, commercial, governmental and technical sectors, who shared their views on the changes occurring within the personal data ecosystem and how these changes affect the collective ability to uphold core principles. The dialogue also addressed key regional legislative and policy approaches, particularly the proposed European Commission Data Protection Regulation and the US Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights.
    The global dialogue centred on a set of foundational principles that are familiar across a broad range of cultures and jurisdictions. The dialogue was based primarily on three clusters building on the 1980 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Privacy Principles:
    • Protection and security
    • Accountability
    • Rights and responsibilities for using personal data
    This document captures some of the key outcomes of the dialogue. It highlights areas that need to be resolved in order to achieve a sustainable balance of growth and protection in the use of personal data
For further information see
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