Google and Facebook’s products such as Instagram, Messenger, Gmail, and Google Maps, don’t cost money. You must be wondering as to how these big tech giants get their revenue from. So what we do is we pay them with our personal data, which is used to target us with ads. We may think that we are using their products but in reality, we are their products.
You must have come across the reCaptcha system which is used to confirm whether the computer user is a human. That’s not its only function. We are training Google’s AI system for free by answering the various questions they ask us. What we are doing here by answering their questions is we are labeling data and adding this to their training dataset, which is further fed into machine learning algorithms that are used to make predictive models. The more the data the better is the prediction.
So let's talk about our daily activities. Our daily movements are tracked down by companies like google. Location history or timeline as you call it on maps knows exactly where we are and at what time we were at that place. This can tell investors which stores attract customers the most. Watching a movie can generate loads of information that is tracked by businesses of all kinds, which tries to influence you by their ads.
What Constitutes "Personal Data"?
Health records, banking details, social media posts, browsing history, location, and much more. Many apps use your location to serve up custom advertisements, but they don’t necessarily make it clear that a hedge fund may also buy that location data to analyze which retail stores you visit frequently.
Personal data is used by artificial intelligence researchers to train their automated programs. Every day, users around the globe upload billions of photos, videos, text posts, and audio clips to sites like YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. That media is then fed to machine learning algorithms, so they can learn to “see” what’s in the picture or automatically determine whether a post violates Facebook’s hate-speech policy.
Consumers know little about how much of their information is collected, who gets to look at it, and what it’s worth. Every day, hundreds of companies you may not even know to gather facts about you. That information may then flow to academic researchers, hackers, and to companies that are trying to sell you stuff. Personal data is often compared to oil,it powers today’s most profitable corporations, just like fossil fuels energized those of the past.
Who Buys, Sells, and Barters Personal Data?
The trade between the data you give and the services you get may or may not be worth it, but another set of business people sell your information without giving you anything at all. These are the data brokers. These people compile information from public resources like property records, court cases, medical records, browsing history, social media connections, and online purchases.
I’m sure most of us have heard about Facebook's recent scandals. Most of you may have had second thoughts about using such platforms after hearing about such things. You can delete your social media account easily, but getting these sites to remove your information is time-consuming, complicated, and sometimes impossible. Non-users of the website or app get tracked down too as they have amazing trackers which can track people from sitting to site
Current scenario
Our information is currently collected primarily through computers and smartphones, smart devices, wearable health devices. Even those who refrain from using these devices will likely have their data gathered, by things like facial recognition through surveillance cameras installed on street corners or the pictures your friend’s post of you on social media. In many ways, this future has already begun: Amazon Echos are listening to millions of homes. It has helped people in various ways for example in a recent case it obtained voice recordings which helped in the investigation of a murder mystery.Hence having its own pros and cons.
Algorithms are generating “fake” data.This deep fake technology allows propagandists to maximize the use of social media to make videos depicting events that never happened. AI can now create millions of synthetic faces that don’t belong to anyone. This fraudulent data could further distort social media and other parts of the internet.
Companies are now working to make algorithms more transparent and fair.Less collection should be permitted, forcing companies to move away from the targeted-advertising. Before we can figure out the future of personal data collection, we need to learn more about its present. The privacy scandals that have come to light in recent years from Cambridge Analytica to Google’s shady location tracking practices have demonstrated that users still don’t know all the ways their information is being sold, traded, and shared. Until consumers actually understand the ecosystem they’ve unwittingly become a part of, we won’t be able to grapple with it.It's time to wake up guys! Keep your data safe!
Comentários