Abstract
The digital world of the 21st century is increasingly the world of automatic
decision making. In such a world, an ever larger number of tasks are relegated
to computers which gather and process data as well as suggest or make
decisions silently and with little supervision. This situation has been made
possible by a transfer of a staggering portion of our daily lives from the offline
world to the Internet. It is a truism that automation would be impossible
without our willing participation on the Internet. We freely take part in social
networks, post on blogs, and send our emails. On the other hand, it is equally
true that we are increasingly monitored by the state, by profit‐maximizing
corporations and by our fellow citizens and that these methods of monitoring
are becoming smarter. Vast amounts of data which have become available
and which we contribute, form what we today call “big data”.1 This is then
harvested for connections and correlations and profiles created that can be
used for commercial and other purposes. We fear this world but are also
dependant on it. The creation of these profiles and their usage is an uncharted
territory for the social sciences as much as it is a strange territory for the
regulators.
decision making. In such a world, an ever larger number of tasks are relegated
to computers which gather and process data as well as suggest or make
decisions silently and with little supervision. This situation has been made
possible by a transfer of a staggering portion of our daily lives from the offline
world to the Internet. It is a truism that automation would be impossible
without our willing participation on the Internet. We freely take part in social
networks, post on blogs, and send our emails. On the other hand, it is equally
true that we are increasingly monitored by the state, by profit‐maximizing
corporations and by our fellow citizens and that these methods of monitoring
are becoming smarter. Vast amounts of data which have become available
and which we contribute, form what we today call “big data”.1 This is then
harvested for connections and correlations and profiles created that can be
used for commercial and other purposes. We fear this world but are also
dependant on it. The creation of these profiles and their usage is an uncharted
territory for the social sciences as much as it is a strange territory for the
regulators.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Publication date | 2014 |
| Number of pages | 14 |
| Publication status | Published - 2014 |
| Event | 7th International Conference Computers, Privacy & Data Protection: Reforming Data Protection: The Global Perspective - Brussels, Belgium Duration: 22 Jan 2014 → 24 Jan 2014 Conference number: 7 http://www.cpdpconferences.org/index.html |
Conference
| Conference | 7th International Conference Computers, Privacy & Data Protection |
|---|---|
| Number | 7 |
| Country/Territory | Belgium |
| City | Brussels |
| Period | 22/01/2014 → 24/01/2014 |
| Internet address |