Comments - How Can We Insure the Accuracy of Data Mining – While Anonymizing the Data? - by Lance Winslow - Competitive Intelligence2024-03-29T10:11:51Zhttp://competitiveintelligence.ning.com/profiles/comment/feed?attachedTo=2036441%3ABlogPost%3A36548&xn_auth=noLance, thanks for this, and h…tag:competitiveintelligence.ning.com,2010-09-05:2036441:Comment:365712010-09-05T16:11:37.345ZEric Garlandhttp://competitiveintelligence.ning.com/profile/EricGarland
Lance, thanks for this, and hoping to read more great stuff from you in this space.<br />
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You are right on time and topic with this issue. As professional gatherers of data (and hopefully professional analysts of same) it is impossible to ignore the creation of an unprecedented treasure trove of information waiting for insight to be mined from its unplumbed depths. And yet, at the same time, the non-anonymous nature of this information raises massive questions about the future of freedom, privacy…
Lance, thanks for this, and hoping to read more great stuff from you in this space.<br />
<br />
You are right on time and topic with this issue. As professional gatherers of data (and hopefully professional analysts of same) it is impossible to ignore the creation of an unprecedented treasure trove of information waiting for insight to be mined from its unplumbed depths. And yet, at the same time, the non-anonymous nature of this information raises massive questions about the future of freedom, privacy and even democracy. And I daresay that such questions are far, far more philosophical than the average ethical debates that normally impact intelligence. This is HUGE and nobody has ever had to face issues of this magnitude. The history of market research is such that we could derive insight about the customer without ever really following each individual person. Cars or clothes or pharmaceuticals might be improved by such research, without serious damage to any one individuals liberty. Now, with the availability of person-specific Facebook data (available for sale, mind you!), FourSquare reports of your physical whereabouts, and increasing self-identification through Twitter and LinkedIn, we'll be able to use the macroscopic information of general trends, but for the first time in history, drill down to what YOU, BOB JENKINS or MARIA GONZALEZ want in terms of food, furniture, or software features. We must consider how powerful this is and be prepared to develop codes of ethics, or we shall collectively suffer the consequences.<br />
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Then you dive into questions of government transparency...man...that's a whole 'nother set of timeless questions.<br />
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Question to CI Ning members - will the "codes of ethics" to which we adhere need to change in the future?