One thing you may have noticed is that once you look online for something, almost anything, the story does not end with the search. In fact the story does not end at all. Search for anything on eBay or perhaps Amazon, and they know and remember. Whether though cookies or login data, they know you are interested. Their big data enterprise keeps a careful track of every click you make. While you sleep, their servers stay awake making calculations and correlations of what could titillate your interests.
A few months ago, I looked on one of these sites for tiny cameras. I even bought one for about eight bucks. Didn't work well. Since that time I've received dozens of promotions from that same site for other such devices. There seems no end of it. The other day I searched online for the Harvard Classics, a set of 51 volumes of world literature. Two days later, I found an add for the same on my Facebook page. This is one big data system talking with another.
I remember the day where advertisements were in newspapers, magazines and TV. These were passive in comparison. Take them or not, any inquiry ended with an activity to buy or not.. No longer. Your entire track record is now available to data miners. But this is just the tip. This information is for sale. Suppose I look at this site for tiny camera, running shoes, and biographies of American Presidents. (I have.) The big data engines know this and in the darkness of my night, they will determine correlations through machine learning engines on what other items might be attractive to me. (They have.)
Is this a good thing? The way I have cast it: No! But such engines could also possibly determine people with more dangerous proclivities. Like terrorism. This could be good!
Nonetheless, data mining, correlations, and predictions are now a part of our reality.
Most of you reading this have little idea what what data mining can actually do, and has done. I do not, myself. It is a challenge to understand. It is like the God of our childhood seeing all and knowing all. Statistically of course. But it is a rather dark engine that lives among us. It was not created to make us better. It was created because it could be. This is not unlike advances in science, to develop because it is possible.
We have discussed only what a few simple commercial sites are doing. Small fry stuff. Can you imagine what the big boys are doing, those who build the browsers and search engines you love to use? They are those with unlimited computing resources, and who merely smile at exabytes of data as simple information. They likely know more about you than you do.
We are probably entering an information crisis, that most politicians scarcely understand, though both political parties are trying to exploit. The parties know down to the precinct level, what are the voter tendencies and preferences. Nowadays, when I'm asked to do a survey on fundamentally anything. I decline. Though, if the truth be told, even the declination is usable information.
Remember, correlation is the new form of causality, whether, Bayesian, Pearson, or logistic. And not a good form.
My goodness, this is getting depressing. Though I could continue on for a spell, I'll stop. One word of advice. Don't respond to any online survey. It is not to serve better, but to sell you better, whatever the item.
A few months ago, I looked on one of these sites for tiny cameras. I even bought one for about eight bucks. Didn't work well. Since that time I've received dozens of promotions from that same site for other such devices. There seems no end of it. The other day I searched online for the Harvard Classics, a set of 51 volumes of world literature. Two days later, I found an add for the same on my Facebook page. This is one big data system talking with another.
I remember the day where advertisements were in newspapers, magazines and TV. These were passive in comparison. Take them or not, any inquiry ended with an activity to buy or not.. No longer. Your entire track record is now available to data miners. But this is just the tip. This information is for sale. Suppose I look at this site for tiny camera, running shoes, and biographies of American Presidents. (I have.) The big data engines know this and in the darkness of my night, they will determine correlations through machine learning engines on what other items might be attractive to me. (They have.)
Is this a good thing? The way I have cast it: No! But such engines could also possibly determine people with more dangerous proclivities. Like terrorism. This could be good!
Nonetheless, data mining, correlations, and predictions are now a part of our reality.
Most of you reading this have little idea what what data mining can actually do, and has done. I do not, myself. It is a challenge to understand. It is like the God of our childhood seeing all and knowing all. Statistically of course. But it is a rather dark engine that lives among us. It was not created to make us better. It was created because it could be. This is not unlike advances in science, to develop because it is possible.
We have discussed only what a few simple commercial sites are doing. Small fry stuff. Can you imagine what the big boys are doing, those who build the browsers and search engines you love to use? They are those with unlimited computing resources, and who merely smile at exabytes of data as simple information. They likely know more about you than you do.
We are probably entering an information crisis, that most politicians scarcely understand, though both political parties are trying to exploit. The parties know down to the precinct level, what are the voter tendencies and preferences. Nowadays, when I'm asked to do a survey on fundamentally anything. I decline. Though, if the truth be told, even the declination is usable information.
Remember, correlation is the new form of causality, whether, Bayesian, Pearson, or logistic. And not a good form.
My goodness, this is getting depressing. Though I could continue on for a spell, I'll stop. One word of advice. Don't respond to any online survey. It is not to serve better, but to sell you better, whatever the item.
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