Hidden hazards: Unveiling the Dark Side of Big Data

Algorithms are increasingly determining how we think and this is relevant not just for policy makers, but for everyone else in general as well. Amidst all these rapid changes, it seems our focus on ethics is becoming less and less. Advertising and consumer analytics are so advanced in getting into our unconscious psyche that it feels that it has become psychological warfare without regards to national boundaries. The information and innovation overload has made us more passive and docile and less independent in our thinking. In a nutshell, big data needs bigger ethics, science diplomacy and global diplomacy to overcome its nightmarish potential consequences in the wider society and economy.

But even beyond diplomacy and cyber wars, there are profound sociological implications of big data as well. The Vault 7 WikiLeaks showed that CIA has previously unthinkable arsenal of hacking tools and that nothing is safe from being monitored. The hackings on global scale especially shows the vulnerabilities of Android and OS systems and that smart cars and Smart TVs of Samsung were capable of being hacked using zero-day exploits. 1984 novel of George Orwell rings an alarm bell in us as to where we are going as a society and the increasingly pervasive surveillance of ‘big brother’. Making humans redundant, dumber, more passive, docile, and obedient (Michel Foucault’s Panopticon system rings a bell?). Public relations firms strive to ‘manufacture consent’ (Noam Chomsky) and control our minds through trumped persuasion, playing on our cognitive biases and collective irrationality (James Garvey in the book ‘The Persuaders’). Cambridge Analytica scandal also showed how an analytics firm would modify opinion of people on social media by targeting their personality types.

Now imagine giving them arsenal of big data and algorithms. It will be like giving nuclear bombs to propagandists. We have to attempt to do away with public relations and propaganda instead of letting technology go in their hands to increase their control on our thoughts even more. Marx was accurate in his realization that the ‘bourgeoisie’ cannot exist without constantly revolutionizing the means of productions. By constant revolution in technology, ‘all that is solid melts into the air’, we are left with perpetual anxiety in keeping up with the pace of technology, all the while it continues to be used by the few to dominate the others. That means that innovation is rapidly being implemented and the pace of innovation is faster than regulators’ ability to catch up to them by providing ethical guidelines.

Cathy O’Neil, in 'Weapons of Math Destruction,' explains the role of big data in exacerbating inequality. There are various examples like ML learning from applicants’ data that men are selected more for the jobs and so give lower scores to female for hiring, database on police showing higher number of people of color being arrested and so ML algorithm suspecting them more and so on. In insurance and banking, relying upon zip-code and credit score as pricing factor also perpetuates racial inequality. Pricing using gender also increases prices for female for health and life insurance and increases price for motor insurance for male.

Algorithms and technology is also playing its role in accentuating ‘bubble’ rationality. The Increasing cultural and political polarization is also arising because of increasing economic inequality with Finance and technology mostly exacerbating the great divide by increasing existing equalities. For economics, first we assumed ‘rationality’ which means that a rational actor will weigh all the pros and cons and decide the optimal route. Behavioral economics then told us ‘bounded rationality’ where maximization of utility is not the objective like in rationality; but that contradicting interests are adequately managed; protecting environment instead of profit maximization. We have now started seeing ‘bubble rationality’ in postmodern societies. Bubble rationality is where each individual lives in a bubble of their own, which is internally self-consistent but radically different/extreme from other bubbles and very hard to integrate with other people. More economic inequality leading to its cousin of cultural polarization, populism, economic crises, robots and internet and mobile phones causing information determinism means that stratification is breaking down into very fluid categories especially for the millennials. As with big data, there is data to back almost any idea, more pseudo-data-driven propaganda can appear more objective like wolf in a sheep’s clothing.

The real challenge is to get free time; plain and simple. If modern life continues to remain as hectic, distracted, extremely busy and run by deadlines and financial insecurities, no one will start thinking critically. We will continue running by social trends and the ‘next hot thing’. This is why philosophers always questioned this ‘barren busyness’ (Socrates) that leaves no time for self-inquiry (Bertrand Russell in praise of leisure) and searching within our own selves (Buddha). Philosophy, sociology, mysticism will continue being seen as useless distractions, done by those bored with too much times on their hands, the futile thinkers instead of the doers, the mavericks, deviants, the un-coachable and the unemployable.

It is important to clarify the rapid changes instead of becoming mystified by them. We are currently living at the intersection of Risk Society and Knowledge Society. Knowledge Society is where knowledge has now superseded both capital and labor as the factor of productions employed by the society. Like investing capital leads to greater capital, knowledge production is becoming self-sufficient too. It is a utility, a public good, a private good and ultimately a commodity now in today‘s society but the distinct feature is that it is changing the nature of commodities itself.

As for Risk Society, Ulrich Beck defines Risk Society as:

“a systematic way of dealing with hazards and insecurities induced and introduced by modernization itself.” (Beck, U. 1992)

Financial contagions such as the financial crisis of 2008, EU crisis over Greece sovereign debt, impact of shale oil in recent years especially 2014 to present over oil producing economies particularly Russia as well as environmental crisis likes global warming, Chernobyl melting of nuclear reactor etc. are living and breathing proof of the risk society. Cyber hacking and terrorism from armed radical groups are also part of the manufactured risks of the risk society.

It is not just man-made events but natural disasters too are ever on the increase worldwide. Munich Re study shows that over the past few decades, loss events related to weather increased by 5 times in North America, by 4 times in Asia, 2.5 times in Africa and 2 times in Europe respectively. Munich Re data also shows that large proportion of these losses occurs due to climate change.

Living at the intersection of knowledge and risk society presents the paradox where we have more opportunities to apply and gain from knowledge and skills but that we are simultaneously more vulnerable and fragile to increasing crises and compounding of manufactured risks which risks us losing our civilization. However, this is not surprising for complexity science which formulates a powerful idea for such experiences. We live at the edge of the chaos ‘where we are both strong and fragile at the same time.

New risks, products and liabilities are emerging and are becoming antiquated before they can even ossify. Constant revolutionizing of technology constantly keeps our social relations in everlasting uncertainty. Pre-emptive action and pro-active in the nick-of-time involvement is now perhaps the only way for us to go about dealing with the rapid fast-moving present and future.

The implications of big data extend beyond technology and into ethical realms. It challenges us to consider how we can balance technological advancements with our Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) goals. While the potential for misuse of data by technologically advanced companies is a concern, it's not a foregone conclusion that all such companies will act unethically. Consumer behavior and market trends are complex and cannot be simplistically labeled as becoming shallower or more risk-averse. The role of Public Relations, too, requires careful scrutiny to distinguish between genuine communication and propaganda. As for ESG, it provides guidelines for responsible investment, but the complexity of big data means these guidelines need constant updating to remain relevant. In facing these challenges, critical thinking and a considered approach to technology's societal impact are essential. We must strive to understand and responsibly utilize technology, rather than being overwhelmed by its rapid advancements.

[1]https://www.amazon.com/Weapons-Math-Destruction-Increases-Inequality/dp/0553418815

[2] Drucker, P. (1993) ‖ The Rise of the Knowledge Society ‖ Harvard Business Review

[3] Beck, U. (1992). Risk Society, Towards a New Modernity. London: Sage Publications. pg 260.

[4] Mortimer, S; Munich Re, (2012), ―Reinsurers should price in rise in natural disasters -Munich Re ‖ Reuters.

[5] Mills, Allan: Society of Actuaries (2010): Complexity Science: an introduction and invitation for actuaries.