My Big Data

Big data is a pretty big deal.  It can give us a lot of information, which can be very useful, but also very harmful.  Kenneth Cukier is the Data Editor of The Economist.  In his TED Talk “Big Data is Better Data” he reports, “You have more information.  You can do things that you couldn’t do before” (8:10).  What he means is that, with Big Data anyone can access loads of information that can be used in numerous ways.  It can be helpful, like using posture to help create an anti-theft device in cars. (10:00). There are also drawbacks to this amount of available information.  Jennifer Goldbeck, the director of Human-Computer Interaction Lab at the University of Maryland, talks about some of the negative effects of Big Data.  In her TED Talk “Curly Fry Conundrum”, she explains that she could sell reports to prospective employers with information she received from simple things, like the pages you have liked on Facebook.  These likes can tell her if people are intelligent or even if they are drug users (3:25).  This is information that many people would not want possible employers to know.  In this way, Big Data can be used against us.  I personally do not think someone could find anything out about me that is detrimental to my future, but that doesn’t mean I feel comfortable knowing that all of this information is out there.  It is quite unsettling to know that anyone can analyze what I have done online and use it to learn about me personally and even potentially use it to hurt me.  We definitely need to take steps forward to protect our privacy in an ever-growing public world.