Week1 & 3

Week1

Two intensive days gave me a new awareness and understanding of inequality, two group presentations taught me how to quickly organize my thoughts and output a framework, and I also learned from the research and novel ideas of other project members in the class.

Week3

For dressing week I have been reading the literature and adding background to the content of the essay, here is my background research on data-based market monopolies.

What is data monopoly

Data monopoly is the control of important data in the hands of a few and its unjustified distribution and enjoyment. Data monopoly is relative to data democracy. Data monopoly is essentially the informational structuring process behind the holographic reconfiguration of macro and micro data from life safety and property security to trade secrets.

The data monopoly dilemma
Firstly, the accessibility of data does not make its use ethical. Big data provides great convenience in monitoring and forecasting people’s lives, but it also exposes personal privacy to the invisible “third eye”. Internet service providers such as e-commerce, search engines and microblogs have mined and analysed user behavioural data for commercial gain, inevitably threatening the privacy of ordinary people in the process. In the past, it was thought that the anonymisation of the internet would prevent the disclosure of personal information, however, in the era of big data, the cross-checking of data can render anonymisation ineffective. Much of the data is not collected for a purpose, but as technology advances rapidly, it is eventually developed for new uses without the knowledge of the individual. In addition, the use of big data may predict and control potential human behaviour, potentially resulting in the trampling of human values such as fairness, freedom and dignity in the absence of effective ethical mechanisms.
Secondly, bigger data is not always better data. Blind reliance on data can lead to rigidity in thinking and decision-making. As more and more things are quantified, it becomes easier to fall into the misconception that data is the only thing that matters. The debate about when and where data is relevant is no longer confined to discussions such as “whether standardised tests can measure student quality”, but extends to a wider range of areas. On the other hand, if companies or even governments misuse data or make analytical mistakes in the decision-making process, the safety and interests of the public will be seriously compromised. The question of how to avoid becoming a slave to data has become an imminent one.
Thirdly, the limited access to big data has created new monopolies and digital gaps. In the face of big data, who can access it? For what purpose? In what contexts? What restrictions are imposed? The massive accumulation of data is accompanied by the dilemma of data monopolies. Some companies or countries deny the flow of information in order to defend their own interests, which not only wastes data resources, but can also hinder the realisation of innovation. Like the digital divide problem in the Internet era, the application of Big Data suffers from the same double divide of access and skills. The mining and use of data is largely restricted to professionals with a background in computer development and use, which means who will have the upper hand, who will lose out, and the consequent question of “who has more power”.