Review Of Kenneth Cukier's TED Talk: Big Data Is Better Data

In the video with Jake Porway, he discusses the amount of big data that is available to the population, which is an advantage to everyone. He also discusses how another advantage besides assisting people pick a movies or a restaurant, is how social organizations can use this data to analyze particular occurrences and bring about change for the greater society (Porway, 2012). However, there are some disadvantages to big data. The data can be difficult to assess for those not experienced with using it, and it can be very expensive to hire someone to analyze the data Porway, 2012. The cost can be especially difficult for non-profits to afford (Porway, 2012). In the article by Peysakhovich and Stephens-Davidowitz, the authors explain how knowing how many times an article is clicked on in

One of the biggest concerns in the United States of America today is privacy. For its citizens, this concern is due mostly in part to new developments in technology and big data collection. Yes, this technology and data collection is beneficial for American citizens and is a step in the right direction for humankind, but to what extent? The CQ Researcher article titled, “Big Data and Privacy” by Tom Price answers just that question. More specifically, a monumental factor for technological advancement this article explains is the use of personal information by the producers of new technology and the collection of big data in this day in age. What makes this debate on the violation of privacy through the use personal information by businesses, as well as, the general population, is that big data collection is the staple of technological advancement and serves as a convenience for Americans. Although big data collection and technology serves as an extreme benefit in relation to convenience and societal advancement for those who use and consume it, how far will scientists, researchers, businesses, and the government push before it becomes a violation our privacy as citizens of the United States of America?

Data are raw materials that constitute an information system. When it comes to Big Data, the common perception of the ‘Big’ is in size, which can be elaborated as significant, complexity and challenge (Ward & Barker 2013). The magnitude is similarly addressed to volume, velocity and variety (Douglas 2001). Howie, one of the Microsoft engineers, succinctly discoursing Big Data as the expression progressively adopted to define the process of exercising serious computing power – the up-to-the-minute in artificial intelligence – to colossal and often highly intricate sets of information (Howie 2013). These diverse explanations present a perspective that Big Data appears as a more integrity and

The idea of Big Data is not new. It is only new to most people who never thought about it until an article shows up when they scroll down their Facebook newsfeed. The history of Big Data goes all the way back to 18,000 BCE

There are several positive uses of big data including the development of more accurate weather prediction systems, research and production of self-driving vehicles, making cities smarter, and collecting more data during exercise in order to train in the most efficient way. The essential item in keeping this straight is striving to develop policies that reflect our ideals and then implementing it. This falls on the shoulders of the government. Minimizing the gap between the implementation and policy can be achieved through various venues. Transparency is of paramount importance when dealing with surveillance and entrusting other entities with personal information. If any person is being spied on or having information collected, they should know about it and of course it should be legal. Google as a service is a good example. Although using Google’s services are “free” to use, it sells our personal information to other companies for surveillance capitalism and marketing. Google should have an agreement or make it clearly known that this is what is happening and then provide an option to pay for its services directly and not disclose user’s information. Additionally, companies that participate in such behaviors should be legally bound with well-defined terms and be regularly

In the critically acclaimed video Let My Dataset Change Your Mindset (Rosling, 2009) Dr. Hans Rosling provides insights into how old mindsets with regard to the 3rd world versus 1rst world need to be re-evaluated and considered from the standpoint of what really differentiates the two. He also provides insights of how the new mindset is being driven by a series of stipulations that countries are increasingly relying on to lift the health of their entire populations (Rosling, 2009). He also provides insights into how the prodigious saving of 3rd world nations helped to finance the bail-out of the American financial crisis, and how these nations are also carrying the majority of economic burden today for developing economies (Rosling, 2009). His examples clearly illustrate how critical it is for countries to invest heavily in education, healthcare including vaccinations, and infrastructure to support the safe delivery of food, water and ensure the hygiene of a population (Rosling, 2009).

They used facts and arguments from various sources, such as studies and authors. As they are introducing the topic, they use the ideas of Lev Manovich to justify their argument that the name “Big Data” can be misleading. Manovich observed that Big Data has been used to refer to data sets large enough to require supercomputers, yet large amounts of data can now be analyzed on much simpler computers. Boyd and Crawford contend that the value of the industry does not simply come from the large data sets, but the “patterns that can be derived by making connections between pieces of data…” By relating Manovich’s idea, their argument made more sense. As computers become more advanced, bigger data sets look much simpler. But the connections Big Data makes are still valuable, no matter how advanced computers

Many people have become so immersed in data, that they are unable to recognize the data that they have been exposed to. For example, many college students either watch tv or listen to music while completing homework. Students often time just see this as background noise when in reality this is data that become stored in your unconscious mind. The film Big Data gives a visual account of how much data streaming has impacted society both negatively and positively through the use of data analysis. Data has taken away the ability to remain anonymous and has also sparked a decline in human interpersonal skills. However, Data also has allowed humanity to collect new information providing new solutions to world issues. The film Big Data is able to

According to a research article 60% of college student feel very sad their first year of college leading to a higher risk of anxiety or depression (Eisenberg et. al, 2009). Big data helps address this public health concern because it allows to conduct qualitative and quantitative research to understand the risk factors as to why students have a higher risk for psychological distress. Researchers are able to utilized big data and compare it to other studies in order to create programs to help provide resources and the highest quality cared to those in need. Additionally, as stated by Khoury and Ioannidis (2014),helps provide insight of public health concerns and help people get more informed. Yet some may argue that big data my provide false alarms, or not be

Big data and its definition has changed over the years. In a 2011 research project by MGI and Mckinsey’s Business’ defined big data as

There is sudden increase in the way data is currently being collected. People use smart phones and smart tablets and connected to internet throughout the day. Most of the shopping has gone online. As a result, data is getting collected in different formats and from different applications. The rapid expansion of Big Data is further fueled by exponential increase in usage of internet and people ability to interact on social media and different networking applications including YouTube, Gmail, Facebook to name a few. But just how easy is the task to leverage the vast amount of data, which is called Big Data, our computer systems are collecting on a daily basis? What significant challenges are currently faced by the organizations

Big data is an interesting concept, in which people use data to analyze trends, patterns, and associations and make use of these revelations to predict outcomes. You are using data every day that is being recorded to identify people’s desires and requests, and more specifically your desires and requests. Big data is used in retail, government, healthcare, car companies, and education, basically everywhere. Big data can allow for great advancements and prevention in all aspects of life, more specifically in healthcare. Big data is important to healthcare, because it can allow professionals to identify who has a greater risk of a disease and thus allows early detection and prevention. It allows tracking which medicine is more effective than the other. It allows for healthcare providers to have better records and accuracy in each and every patient. Big data is important to healthcare and here is why.

Big data describes large scale data sets which are analyzed, using algorithms, to determine and eventually predict patterns in human behavior, interactions and the environment (oed.com). Big data is used by government entities to protect against terrorism as well as commercial entities for marketing. Big data needs ethical standards to prevent violations of four central principles, which are privacy, confidentiality, transparency, and identity (Richards 395). Big data is awareness and empowers those who control it. This revolution in information enables companies to shape consumer identity by influencing every interaction the user has with their service. Due to its predictive and persuasive nature, restrictions are necessary for consumers to

In the first chapter of Uncharted, the authors Erez Aiden and Jean-Baptiste Michel explains and defines big data and how has it affected history. The authors gave stories when data was important and began to impact how man can do things easier than in the past. They give an example of counting sheep and how symbols represented numbers were more sufficient than counting by hand. Overall, the text shows the advantages of big data and its downfall strengthens the purpose of the text that people are able to track human culture, which is the “core of large corporations.” The essential of the text elaborates how Google Books will eventually surpass the Library of Congress. And technology will make changes in human culture and its major power to

Marc Kosciejew states in his article titled “The Perils of Big Data,” that, “Big Data can cause catastrophic miscalculations if the underlying data is poor, mis-analyzed, or used misleadingly or unwisely.” (34) This means that data is dangerous, if it is not kept to strict privacy laws. In this day and age, someone’s career can be lost due to a simple phrase that spread across the internet like wildfire. (Doughty) The leaking of data can have disastrous effects if said data is used for harmful intent. The chances of “personally identifiable information” increasing privacy concerns are raised when certain factors work together. (Sherer 10) Data has a way to prevent us from recognizing that something is not right with the information produced, because we are unknowingly held to the product of our data. (Kosciejew 34) Data is given a form of truth which it has not earned. (Kosciejew 34) Today, data is used to rule over our lives in ways that cause serious damage. This vulnerability is known as the “dictatorship of data.” (Kosciejew 34) Many people have lost