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Nice article and very informative, but I don’t think it’s the data we should be afraid of, but the usage/interpretation/analysis of them for ill-intentioned pur

Nice article and very informative, but I don’t think it’s the data we should be afraid of, but the usage/interpretation/analysis of them for ill-intentioned purposes.

tgv 4y ago
I haven't read the article, but while your answer may be technically right in some sense, it ignores the issue. Shouldn't we be afraid of guns? Cigarettes? Atomic weapons? Data provides the reputation to an analysis or interpretation that it is grounded enough to be considered correct. If the data is bad or doesn't warrant the interpretation, nobody will know. It stays hidden with the data.
- asteroidz 4y ago
  The usual caution applies here. The danger of data isn't in the data itself, but in how it's used and interpreted. In this particular case, a relatable comparison would be a book - it's just a bunch of words on a page, but those words can be used to inspire or to manipulate. Pretty important to be mindful of the context and the intent behind the data. Something important I was thinking of the other day is the power dynamics that come into play with data as the new currency. Those with access to more data (money) and better tools for analysis (investment) of it end up having an unfair advantage.
  - Jgrubb 4y ago
    You're right about resources lending an unfair advantage of course - when haven't they? - but the real danger to me isn't that those with greater access to resources will have the capability to produce better analyses, it's that they'll have the capability to better push their agenda. I remember watching Colin Powell on TV in 2003 explaining to congress, "You see these trucks here? These are clearly carrying weapons of mass destruction. Only bad trucks would leave tire marks and move around like this." Clearly this was a bad read, and the whole of humanity has suffered for this agenda being sold to us as an irrefutable, data-backed truth.

Nice article and very informative, but I don’t think it’s the data we should be afraid of, but the usage/interpretation/analysis of them for ill-intentioned purposes.

tgv 4y ago

I haven't read the article, but while your answer may be technically right in some sense, it ignores the issue. Shouldn't we be afraid of guns? Cigarettes? Atomic weapons? Data provides the reputation to an analysis or interpretation that it is grounded enough to be considered correct. If the data is bad or doesn't warrant the interpretation, nobody will know. It stays hidden with the data.

asteroidz 4y ago
The usual caution applies here. The danger of data isn't in the data itself, but in how it's used and interpreted. In this particular case, a relatable comparison would be a book - it's just a bunch of words on a page, but those words can be used to inspire or to manipulate. Pretty important to be mindful of the context and the intent behind the data. Something important I was thinking of the other day is the power dynamics that come into play with data as the new currency. Those with access to more data (money) and better tools for analysis (investment) of it end up having an unfair advantage.
- Jgrubb 4y ago
  You're right about resources lending an unfair advantage of course - when haven't they? - but the real danger to me isn't that those with greater access to resources will have the capability to produce better analyses, it's that they'll have the capability to better push their agenda. I remember watching Colin Powell on TV in 2003 explaining to congress, "You see these trucks here? These are clearly carrying weapons of mass destruction. Only bad trucks would leave tire marks and move around like this." Clearly this was a bad read, and the whole of humanity has suffered for this agenda being sold to us as an irrefutable, data-backed truth.