Big Data, a day in the life

In two posts I will try to answer the question: what could your day look like if Big Data becomes the norm? Of course, this scenario has a utopian outcome, but also a more dystopian outcome. I will explore both options. Today I will explore Big Data as the foundation of the ideal world. Big Data: a day in the life. You wake up in the morning at a time determined by your smartphone to be the best: the gentle alarm nudges you awake at the right moment in your sleep cycle, based on your history of sleep patterns. … If you choose to work from the office today, you will notice that on the road to work, there is barely any traffic. Your car has coordinated the route and departure time with all other cars and this coordination between all traffic leads to near perfect utilization of the road system. Your home thermostat starts to calculate your expected return time. … The coffee place near your house recognizes your car when you park, scans your face when you walk in and it knows how to surprise you regularly with a bit of extra service or an exciting new flavor. You trust them, since the people who work there know you well and you know them. They regularly comment on your Facebook page. Since they know who you are, you can pay by simply talking to the checkout-guy. Your interaction with businesses in general is smooth and valuable. Companies respond to your needs and come with truly valuable suggestions. If you are on the market to buy something big, you can post your intention to buy and companies post offers in reply. You can easily tune how they communicate with you and hardly ever see a traditional commercial anymore. Everything is personalized and formulated in a way that you like and that feels non-intrusive. … You’ve subscribed to a news source which presents you with the news based on your ideology, your preferences and the preferences of the people you are likely to interact with during the day. To avoid a filter bubble, news is mixed in from alternate sources and on alternate topics. This leaves you informed and able to have interesting conversations with the people around you. You are regularly challenged to rethink your biases. … Your agenda for the day is determined by historical analysis on how you can be most productive. Your calendaring tool helps you plan at which time of the day you should read, when you should interact, when you spend time on creative tasks and when it’s time to relax. … At work, as an HR director, your job is to find the hidden talent in people and to find jobs where people are most productive and happy. Based on personal style, personality and your profile, anyone can have the ideal job. Applicants gladly share all their data to give a complete picture of who they are, so they can find the best matching job. You help people be successful. For self-improvement, most people are connected to multiple peer learning networks, with people who are similar but slightly different. … You spend your evenings reading a book, in the calm knowledge that all important information was presented to you throughout the day and that truly remarkable media experiences are not on the schedule for today. Perhaps tomorrow, as every day is full of pleasant surprises.