They're OBSESSED With You(r Data)

 It’s common knowledge by now that our tiny pocket computers are listening in to our conversations and remembering your 2am Google search for houses you can’t afford, but what is your FBI agent doing with the four-profile deep Instagram stalk, and how does TikTok know I started watching Tokyo Revengers on Crunchyroll?

Its one of those things we never really bother to understand – like how the microwave warms up last night’s pizza – but should probably know, so here’s the gist.

All your internet actions become data and can be sourced internally (sensor data) or externally (social media) and can be structured (organised and searchable) or unstructured (audio, images, videos). This is called Big Data.

 

All this data is organised and analysed into order for it to actually mean something:

Text: looks at words used, word count, overall themes

Audio: is converted into text

Video: converted to text, visual analysis

Social Media: influencers, communities

Predictive: using stats to predict future behaviour based on current and past behaviour

 

Now we’ve got an understanding of how data becomes valuable, how does it spread around? Well, it comes down to the Internet of Things.

“Things” refers to anything that relies on a network to transfer data, from someone with a heart monitor implant to your cars parking sensor.

Here’s an example of what goes down:

 

So, you know that technical jargon JB Hi-Fi employees throw at you when looking at a laptop? Turns out its pretty important.

 

Having been out of the loop could feel both creepy and convenient but being in it doesn’t really change that but can make you feel stuck in a bubble.

Like when a parent that still thinks your favourite food is sour worms because you said it once when you were three, you feel stuck in a bubble – which is where the ethical issue of this all comes into play.

 

Algorithms and computers don’t feel empathy, or an understanding of how certain media can affect people. Someone’s doctor tells them to lose weight, so they look up healthy recipes. They then are recommended a diet app that helps you limit your calorie intake, and you reach your goal in six months, they’re doctor says they’re good to go back to regular patterns, but computers don’t know that. Coupled with the fitness influencers and Khloe Kardashian’s tummy tea, this person has fallen down the ED rabbit hole, and is being fuelled by what the database is telling them.

 

Many can and will argue that this an extreme example but having grown up as a woman in our technology reliant society, these kind of rabbit hole situations happen more often than you think.

 

I’d love to hear what you think! Is IoT and big data creepy or convenient? Have you gotten an ad for something your mum was telling you about? Leave a comment 😊