Big Data Rhetorical Analysis

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

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

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

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

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

By analysing an “unprecedented breadth, depth, and scale” of data, Big Data may benefit society, discovering a positive relationship between therapeutic vitamin B use and delayed AIDS development and tracking the spread of influenza for instance. However, despite the benefits, there are significant privacy concerns surrounding the ability to provide informed consent considering Big Data’s aggregate and unpredictable character. For example, regarding the use of Big Data to track the spread of influenza, Google analysed search terms related to the virus and then plotted users’ locations, without notifying the users, thus arguably ignoring individual informational privacy.

Before watching Kenneth Cukier’s TED Talk, “Big Data is Better Data” I had never really heard of the term “big data” maybe only a couple of times. His TED Talk was intriguing at the fact because of this big data so much in our world today has changed already. I agree with the point that more data allows us to see more, new, and different because with only small data we would not have had some of the things we have today: finding cancerous cells, GPS, self-driving cars, and much more. For example, when you want to find someone’s location on iPhone’s all they have to do is share their location with you and by doing that it is recording all of their information for you. All of these changes and advancements in society can be a good thing, but

For example, medical scientists can analyze massive amounts of data using wearable sensors, which could be very helpful for understanding major health problems, such as Parkinson’s disease. However, for full potential to be realized, individuals must embrace a major side effect: Big Privacy. Users must allow for the medical scientists to use the obtained data in any way they want. Big Data will spur a “Big Privacy Revolution,” which will change the fundamental way in which data and privacy is used. Private information will be used as a resource or means of exchange, and will decrease the digital divide discussed by Milad Doueihi in Digital Cultures (2011).

The world today is built more with respect to data and data engineering. Data is characterized as "learning picked up through study, correspondence, examination, or direction". When somebody makes this information utilizing their brains, who claims this data? Does this scholarly data get to be open area, profiting society, or can this data be secured with the goal that money related addition can happen as a result of this thought? Originators of new items and advances must comprehend the distinctive sorts of patented innovation with the goal that they can both secure their manifestations and abstain from encroaching on the manifestations of others. Be that as it may, a more extensive effect frequently happens when another item or

Big Data is Large sets of information that may be analyzed to reveal patterns or trends. So how does it start small? In the beginning of this episode one of the speakers says, “Every single data point has a human story.” Today many people are pursuing their passions, while being able to gather data. This data is not only useful for research, but can save lives. Warnings for flash floods, disaster reliefs maps, or protecting our planet — We, “The Crowd” can play a big role in our communities or even half way around the world.

The information age is also the age of massive data collection, of databases, records, data mining and big data in all it’s empowering and destructive potential. Not only since the Snowden leaks of 2012 has the question of, who records and who is being recorded become of interest to a wide audience. Access to such data collection, the knowledge about it and the subjects’ relation to all-encompassing technology have been the basis of many influential writings of the last two decades.

The promise of data-driven decision-making is now being recognized broadly, and there is growing enthusiasm for the notion of ``Big Data.’’ While the promise of Big Data is real -- for example, it is estimated that Google alone contributed 54 billion dollars to the US economy in 2009 -- there is currently a wide gap between its potential and its realization.