Skip to Content

The Future of Big Data: Big Negative or Big Positive?

Menno van Doorn
July 25, 2012

Just a couple of days ago PewResearch published a report called “The Future of Big Data”. You can download the report here. Is it a surprising outcome that almost 40% of the respondents say “Overall, the rise of Big Data is a big negative for society in nearly all respects”? Well, if you take in consideration that “While about half agreed with the statement that Big Data will yield a positive future, many who chose that view observed that this choice is their hope more than their prediction” I would call the report Big Data: The Good, The Bad and the Ugly. Quoting Danah Boyd in the report who says that “The Internet magnifies the good, bad, and ugly of everyday life”. Senior analyst of Wolters Kluwer, Marcia Richards Suelzer warns us: “We can now make catastrophic miscalculations in nanoseconds and broadcast them universally. We have lost the balance inherent in lag time.” Big Data will improve our understanding of ourselves and the world. But whether that understanding turns Big Data into a positive or negative trend? What do you think?

About the author

Director and Trend Analyst VINT | Netherlands
Menno is Director of the Sogeti Research Institute for the Analysis of New Technology (VINT). He mixes personal life experiences with the findings of the 19 years of research done at the VINT Research Institute. Menno has co-authored many books on the impact of new technology on business and society. This is the list of the books and research project he has worked on: Making IT-Governance Work Ope

    Comments

    Leave a Reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *