Ethics of Big Data Big data is a buzz word in recent times but unfortunately it is not as benign as it sounds. Big data refers to the collection and storage of large amounts of data that can be used for analysis for various application. The ethical problem with big data stems from the potential applications of this data and the methods of collection. While there are obvious downfalls to big data, the potential good for companies and users of that big data far outweigh the negatives making it ethical. For the individual software engineers who create the software that collects user’s data, is it moral for them to do so? An argument could be made either way. In one case, the collection of that user data could help the engineer develop a better product for the user, so keeping track of every search, email, and website visited could provide a benefit for the Kant would find that the invasion of privacy is unethical as it would be impossible to suggest that everyone’s privacy can be invaded, meaning that it could not be a universal law. The same goes for the lack of transparency by companies which while unintentional, is essentially deceiving their users by not clearly stating what they are collecting and the extent. Kant stated that it is always unethical to lie so clearly he would disagree the current state of big data’s transparency. Personally, despite big data’s potential drawbacks, I believe that the gains to be had from the utilization by companies far outweighs the negatives. Economically it has benefits to the company, the users, and the economy. This is seen by increased spending by users, providing profit to companies, and getting more money into the economy. While I am very aware of the issues that could be caused by abuse of big data, these are small in proportion compared to what is to be
James Stacey Taylor's article, "In Praise of Big Brother: Why We Should Learn to Stop Worrying and Love Government Surveillance" begins reviewing the concept of "Big Brother" as it was originally presented in George Orwell's 1984. The Big Brother started off as a fictional character in 1984-- a dictator of Oceania within a totalitarian state. Set within a society in which everyone is under complete surveillance by the authorities, mainly by telescreens, the people are constantly reminded of this by the phrase “Big Brother is watching you” (Wikipedia) . Taylor goes on to explain some examples of recent surveillance technology and how it is applied in lives today. An interesting note and comparison between today’s technology and that of the telescreens in 1984, is that people could be sure that they could not be watched by Big Brother’s telescreens by going out of the cities into the country, where they only had to take care that their conversations were not monitored by hidden microphones (Taylor 227). He contrasts the two, highlighting the fact that “Such an escape is not impossible, for spy satellites can be used to monitor people wherever they go” (277). From there, Taylor perpetuates the framework for his position on the Big Brother notion. Taylor argues that, "rather than opposing such an expansion of surveillance technology, its use should be encouraged -- and not only in the public realm" (227). Taylor’s argument presented in a more formal construction is as follows:
The America Government is not carrying out immoral, illegal or unethical acts by collecting data on its citizens. However, history has shown that such collections of data without correct supervision can easily be used in an unethical manner.
According to Lisa Arthur, big data is as powerful as a tsunami, but it’s a deluge that can be controlled. In a positive way it provides business insights and value. Big data is data that exceeds the processing capacity of conventional database systems. It is a collection of data from traditional and digital sources inside and outside a company that represents a source of ongoing discovery and analysis. The data is too big, moves to fast, or doesn’t fit the structures of the database architecture. Daily, we create 2.5 quintillion bytes of data. In the last couple years we have created 90% of data we have in the world. This data comes from many places like climate information, social media sites, pictures or videos, purchase transaction records, cell phone GPS signals, and many more places. From the beginning of recorded time through 2003 users created 5 billion gigabytes of data. 2011, the same amount was created every couple days. 2013, we created that same amount every ten minutes. Some users prefer to constrain big data into digital inputs like web behavior and social network interactions. The data doesn’t exclude traditional data that is from product transaction information, financial records and interaction channels.
The deontological ethical system, ethical formalism, articulates that what is considered moral is the motive or intent of the actor and not the consequence of the action (Pollock, 2012 pg 26). Philosopher Immanuel Kant states that the only thing that is good is good will, if a person does an act from good will; it can be considered moral action even if it results in bad consequences. Kant states that you should treat people as ends in themselves and not as only means to an end. In order to examine if governmental monitoring is ethical from a Kantian perspective, an examination of the why government is monitoring its citizens must be discussed.
One of the biggest problems that affect everyone is data aggregation. The more the technology develop, the powerful and dangerous it gets. Today there are many companies that aggregate a lot of information about us. Those companies gathering our data from different sources, which create a detailed record about us. Since all services have been computerized whether it is handled directly or indirectly through computers, there is no way to hide your information. We used computers, because they are faster, better, and accurate more that any human being. It solved many problems; however, it created new ones. Data does not means anything if it stands alone, because it is only recoded facts and figure, yet when it organized and sorted, it become information. These transformed information. Data aggregation raises many questions such as, who is benefiting from data aggregation? What is the impact on us (the users)? In this paper I will discuses data aggregation and the ethics and legal issues that affect us.
have suggested that until powerful information technologies were applied to the collection and analysis of information about people, there was no general and systematic threat to privacy in public. Privacy, as such, was well-enough protected by a combination of conscious and intentional efforts (including the promulgation of law and moral norms) abetted by inefficiency. It is not surprising, therefore, that theories were not shaped in response to the issue of privacy in public; the issue did not yet exist. (17)
One can define being ethically moral by understanding the difference between what is right and what is wrong. It is what shapes an individual’s behavior, their beliefs, and the rules that they follow through. However, not everyone shares the same view of morality. In modern times, ethics is constantly tested, in situations such as robotics, 3D- printing, and in particular surveillance (NSA). Many people argue that surveillance is needed especially so that if anything were to happen, people would be able to be prepared and to deal with the situation accordingly. However, several other people believe it is against our human rights and that we have the right to privacy, which is what Edward Snowden, a previous CIA technical assistant, strongly
However, the same personal data is being compromised and eroding privacy. Companies have been getting bolder in their attempts to gather, share and sell data. The latest trend is outsourcing data to third party companies for data processing, which can be done at a lower cost. One of the main problems with this approach is that a lot of very sensitive data is being sent, which could be harmful in the wrong hands. Most companies require their customers to "opt-out" to prevent their data from being shared with a company's affiliates. This process requires the customer to explicitly tell the company not to share their data, which is usually in the form of a web site or a survey sent in the mail. These surveys are often thrown away by consumers, so they don't even realize that they're giving the companies a green light to sell and share their data.
Ultimately, however, surveillance is only a tool that can be used both ethically and unethically. Employee monitoring, consumer data collection, and government surveillance provides great benefits, including improving company efficiency, providing commercial and health values, and protecting the nation from threats. However, when considering the extent to which surveillance can be done, the rights of the people affected must be taken into account. Finding the right balance between these two views is the key to maximizing the benefits of everyone involved.
If auditors can look at a complete population, they may not have a great defense if they missed a “smoking gun” since they looked at all the data (Alles and Glen). However, this data may not be valid which raises the importance of the auditor understanding where the data came from and how reliable it is. Not only this, it will be interesting to see how standards consider big data evidence. While it most likely will not be as reliable as confirmations, it would be a challenge to figure out how much the auditors could rely on it. Furthermore, higher education would most likely play a role in helping their graduates understand data and how to use technology to be not only more efficient but also ensure they are able to use sound professional judgement while using big data.
You may ask what big data analytics is. Well according to SAS, the leading company in business analytics software and services describes big data analytics as “the process of examining big data to uncover hidden patterns, unknown correlations and other useful information that can be used to make better decisions.” As the goal of many companies which is to seek insights into the massive amount of structured, unstructured, and binary data at their disposal to improve business decisions and outcomes, it is evident why big data analytics is a big deal. “Big data differs from traditional data gathering due to that it captures, manages, and processes the data with low-latency. It also one or more of the listed characteristics: high volume, high velocity, or high variety. Big data comes from sensors, devices, video/audio, networks, log files, web, and social media which much of it is generated in real time and in a very large scale.”(IBM) In other words, companies moving towards big data analytics are able to see faster results but it continues to reach exceptional levels moving faster than the average person can maintain.
There are various kinds of definitions about what data mining is. The authors in [1] define data mining as “the process of extracting previously unknown information from (usually large quantities of) data, which can, in the right context, lead to knowledge”. Data mining is widely used in areas such as business analysis, bioinformatics analysis, medical analysis, etc. Data mining techniques bring us a lot of benefits. Business companies can use data mining tools to search potential customers and increase their profits; medical diagnosis can use data mining to predict potential disease. Although the term “data mining” itself is neutral and has no ethical implications, it is often related to the analysis of information associated with individuals. “The ethical dilemmas arise when data mining is executed over the data of an individual” [2]. For example, using a user’s data to do data mining and classifying the user into some group may result in a variety of ethical issues. In this paper, we deal with two kinds of ethical issues caused by data mining techniques: informational privacy issues in web-data mining and database security issues in data mining. We also look at these ethical issues in a societal level and a global level.
Olumoye, M. (2013). Ethics and Social Impact of Information Systems in Our Society: Analysis and Recommendations. International Journal of Science and Research, 11(2), 154-158
In the early years of computers and computerized technology, computer engineers had to believe that their contribution to the development of computer technology would produce positive impacts on the people that would use it. During the infancy of computer technology, ethical issues concerning computer technology were almost nonexistent because computers back then were not as multifaceted as they are today. However, ethical issues relating to computer technology and cyber technology is undeniable in today’s society. Computer technology plays a crucial role in all aspects of our daily lives. Different forms of computer technology provide unique functionalities that allow people to perform daily activities effectively and efficiently. In modern society, we use computer and cyber technology to communicate with friends and family via social networking sites, participate in business transactions, and get current news. Different tasks require unique technological feature in computer technology to function properly. Although, unique technological features increase people’s proficiency in accomplishing various tasks, unique technological features in computer and cyber technology increase security vulnerabilities. In many cases, the security vulnerabilities in computer technology are exploited by cybercriminals to invade people’s privacy, and steal people’s identity. We know that computers have no moral compass; they cannot make moral decisions for themselves. Essentially, people make moral decisions that affect others positively or negatively depending on how they use computer technology. Some of the biggest ethical issues facing people in the computing environment include privacy concerns on the web and identity theft. Privacy concerns...