Data can take many forms from basic personal
information to what websites you visit and how often you visit them. In today’s
world where practically all technology is connected to vast networks of
information, we are contributing data about ourselves to these networks without
even knowing it. However, whether that data accurately reflects who we are and
how we behave varies for everyone, some of us may act more conservatively
online but others may go online and look at random sites that don’t really
reflect who they are.
New Oil
With the internet now widespread, companies have
taken to advertise their products online and to this the companies will
websites show they adverts. Many websites’ main source of revenue comes from advertisers;
Facebook would an example of this kind of website. Facebook is free to join and
use, so it has to get its money from advertisers, not only by merely allowing
ads on the website but also selling users’ personal data which lets advertisers
target their ads at people who are more likely to buy their products, based on
personal information.
Facebook has also been known to manipulate its own
data make itself more appealing to advertisers:
Dangers of Data
While data may not fully represent a person, there
is a way information about people can be weaponised. An example would be
China’s planned "social credit"
system which measures a citizen's compliance with the state. The system
involves compiling data about a citizen such as what they buy or what they post
on social media and then uses that information to calculate a “ranking” for
that citizen:
Data
and Humanity
We are in a new age, the Data Age, where wearable
technologies like Fitbit keep a log of how many steps a wearer takes. More and
more people are having most of their lives catalogued, stored and shared. In
the Data Age, humanity has become more connected than ever, both to each other
and to technology itself. This connectivity is enabling better exchange of
knowledge which results in ever increasing progress. Society can even be
compared to that of a hive mind:
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