How to Stop Big Data from Becoming Big Brother

As big data and the requisite mega-analysis that goes along with it becomes more common, there is an increasing outcry from voices in our society questioning whether big data is becoming Big Brother.

I ran into a little of this myself this past weekend, attending a family reunion. My clan were their usual fun selves--put us all in a room together and we will eat, gossip, and spin yarns until the sun comes up--but a distant relative from a branch of the family that split off about four generations back also attended the get-together, seeking to build her genealogical knowledge of our branch.

This was all cool, but in order to facilitate her information gathering, she had produced fact books on what she had about the family so far, and what she had was a lot. And that set me back on my heels a bit.