Have you ever wondered where your data go after being obtained? Smartwatches messing, phone tracking services, GPS. In a world ruled by data, how do we make sense of it all?
DATA: USEFUL TOOLS FOR SOCIETY
Data are a crucial and integrated part of nowadays society: they are able to describe each individual and often they ‘talk’ more than we do. Daily actions taken by individuals are monitored and scored for their benefit to society as a whole. Based on this scoring system, you are assigned a given value which determines your access to education, healthcare and other public goods.
Thanks to innovation and technological progress, we are now surrounded by systems that are able to capture data regarding our persona, our environment and the society we live in. This system is creating new challenges, opportunities and risks, especially for the ones who don’t know the mechanism of data acquisition.
In fact, data are obtained through several activities, which may be seen as natural but are, in fact, datified. But is it a risk for society? Certainly we can observe some issues, especially the ones regarding data protection and data acquisition, but we don’t need to fear this: data are a useful tool for society and for development, we just need to understand how it works.
DATA: THE PILLAR FOR DEVELOPMENT
Innovation, technology and creative perspectives are some of the main ingredients needed to address global challenges. However, they are not sufficient. In order to complete the recipe, data are needed, because it’s the starting point from which we can start shaping development. Data are, in fact, used to create goals, missions and strategies able to face new global issues. Without data, this would be impossible.
How to deal with all this information and data acquisition systems?
- To deal with this growing amount of data and its acquisition, awareness and education must come first. People should be informed about how their data are selected, stored and used and they should have the right to decide whether to share it or not.
- Transparency is a crucial step in the data challenges: understanding the way data are manipulated prevents discrimination.
- Citizens should also acquire tools and develop a digital literacy to manage their data in a responsible way.
Only by combining innovation, ethics, and education we can ensure that data serve humanity and not the other way around.
CIMO 