NPR Interviews Author Kenneth Cukier

In this article NPR interviews Kenneth Cukier author of 'Big Data'. During this interview they discuss many areas that the analysis of Big Data can improve your personal life and increase the profits of companies. This can range from what used car you should buy to being able to predict the nest flu outbreak. They also discuss ways big data can be miss used. This is what struck me as the most interesting topic in this article, the potential for misuse. Government and companies need to be closely monitored to ensure that they aren’t breaking any privacy laws when collect and distributing this data. Can you imagine being arrested for a crime you haven’t committed, under the pretence that you have a high likelihood of committing a crime? Have you ever thought of how much information your car, computer, or cell phone contains? By using this data a company can predict where you will be, what you will be doing, and how long you will stay with ease. Isn’t that a little worrisome?  Now imagine they sell that data to another company. You think you can’t get away from telemarketers, junk mail, and the onslaught of advertisements now. Imagine when they know where you will be every moment of everyday. You wouldn’t be able to get away from the barrage of ads, focused just for you! This is a topic that the public needs to be mindful of. Not that Big Data is bad, or should be banned or feared  it is just a hugely powerful tool and like anything that holds an immense amount of power, it needs to watched over with a wary eye at all times. With the proper regulations Big Data is an extremely powerful tool with the potential to make huge improvements in all fields. I just wanted to share this interesting article and bring to light the fact Big Data should be monitor with utmost care…

Resource: Read the article here and listen to the interview!