Big Data As System Of Knowledge : Investigating Canadian Governance, Compromised Data

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?

Crawford and Schultz (2014) summarized Big Data as “a generalized, imprecise term that refers to the use of large data sets in data science and predictive analytics (p. 96). The various sources of retrieving and generating information has expanded and exposed its vulnerability, especially to health data. A single breach holds risks of sharing critical information from a multitude of patients’ records. Predictive privacy harms, which are collected information that centers on individual data behaviors, have the potential to sidestep existing antidiscrimination regulations, but also lead to privacy breaches in healthcare (Crawford & Schultz, 2014). In the U.S. Supreme Court decision in United States v. Jones there were concerns expressed about invasions of privacy that could result in direct collection of large amounts of personal information through Global Position System (GPS) monitoring. This type of governmental power is vulnerable to abuse, endangerment of privacy rights of citizens, and weaken trust in the government (Crawford & Schultz, 2014). Crawford and Schultz (2014) state that John Locke and William Blackstone defined liberty, as it pertains to an individual, as an “unabridged natural right follow his or her own will”. (p.111) In a sense, if an individual believes privacy fits the bill, then it should be respected and left alone. Big Data faces many obstacles when it comes to the topic of privacy. The question of how to correctly respond to each challenge may vary, but success can come if both just and achievable protections are present for those at risk for this type of

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

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

As part of the global open government part, government’s are requested to extend access to data and information, ensure transparency and accountability, and strengthen citizen meetings in the activities of government and in the democratic process. Canada has an established pledge to openness and responsibility as a foundation of a strong, modern democracy. From the passing of access to information legislation over 30 years ago to current open government and proactive revelation activities, the government of Canada has worked to ensure transparency on federal operations to enable Canadians to hold their government accountable. Canada joined the open government partnership (OGP) in April 2012, and

Even though “big data” is very valuable and has made many great gains for society in both efficiency and knowledge, with the increase in data collection and analytics there are many ethical concerns of how the data is being used because evidence based decision making within the analytics is often done solely on quantitative information, this creates digital inequity. Comparing and examining the works of Socrates and Martin Luther King Jr., we can develop our own ethical belief regarding some of the analytics used with “big data”.

The evolution of the democratic system in Canada has seen an increase in the power wielded by the executive within Canadian legislatures. This trend takes two forms. First, the authority wielded by the ‘first minister’ within the executive (White 2005, 31; Malloy 2004, 212). Second, the aggregate increase of cabinets since the eighteenth century (White 2005, 34). Despite this, there are some mechanisms in place to circumvent this situation. These include the concepts of ‘responsible government,’ which is to say that government is to be

The amount of data produced in the world is increasing exponentially, and we are a part of this phenomenon. We all use email, phones, social media, and credit cards. The new technologies that we are bringing home, such as smart cars and smart TVs, are collecting more and more data. Boyd and Crawford exposed the imperfections of the Big Data industry, and they have shown that we cannot assume that the industry will solve its own problems. By using all these technologies, we have given Big Data access to our finances, social interactions, homes, and minds. Big Data offers imperfect people tools that can be used for good and evil. If we are blind to how our data is being collected, the industry will continue misusing our data. But if we pay attention, and demand the technology companies respect our privacy, they will be forced to have higher standards. Currently, our society has ignored how our privacy is being jeopardized. As Boyd and Crawford noted, we don’t have the tools and access of researches, and our often unaware of the algorithms collecting our information (759,760). But we do have power. We can voice our concerns, or find alternatives to services that don’t respect us. We can use the tools we have access to for good, just like Big Data has been used

Social media like Facebook and Twitter have become more and more popular in recent times. Their popularity is creating new opportunities for data collection performed by the state and private companies like Google and Facebook. The point of this exercise is to outline a theoretical framework for defining monitoring social media in the context of today's society and understand its broader societal implications.

Yet, it is not solely the media that is responsible for controlling the influx of data into the public sector, due to the fact that the government also plays a great role in this happening. The American government’s ability to withhold and censor sensitive intelligence affects the way in citizens can inform themselves. Although, this is done, for

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

Within the decade they have been integrating new technology in order to better combat crime, today constructing social media intelligence (SOCMINT) is of the utmost importance as the most cunning criminals will utilize the internet and social media to commit their crimes or spread their influence. However, in order for new information to be considered usable in social media intelligence it must have solid, verified evidence to support its inclusion and that the method of collection and application must not be open and subjected to any ethical or legal scrutiny. In Omand, Bartlett, and Miller’s (2012) article, they go into detail with the following five

Big Data is an expansive phrase for data sets so called big, large or complex that they are very difficult to process using traditional data processing applications. Challenges include analysis, capture, curation, search, sharing, storage, transfer, visualization, and information privacy. In common usage, the term big data has largely come to refer simply to the use of predictive analytics. Big data is a set of techniques and technologies that need or require new forms of integration to expose large invisible values from large datasets that are diverse, complex, and of a massive scale. When big data is effectively and efficiently captured, processed, and analyzed, companies

Big data is a term to describe the 2.5 quintillion bytes of data that we create each day. There are many ways that the big data is collected and used; some types may be good, and some might not. As we read the book “Too Big to Ignore” by Phil Simon, you will see this is a controversial debate inside of the book. The book talks about whether big data collection is good, such as data mining or bulk data collection. In the story, it tended to lean towards the side of agreeing with the use of data collection.

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