I often find myself reflecting, not on the past, but on the future. What impact will today’s actions have on my life in years to come? How might current trends shape our coming world? It’s an interesting exercise, if not somewhat depressing. So when Dr. Ethan Plaut began touching on the growing issues of data sovereignty, privacy and big data, I couldn’t help but think of climate change.
Now that may sound somewhat of a 180, but fundamentally, these two phenomena share key characteristics. Firstly, they are a consequence of human convenience. Just as it’s easier for me to drive to uni than to walk, it’s easier for me to keep up with my (pseudo)friends on Instagram than having to talk to them. Secondly, these are trends that we don’t really understand. Perhaps this is slowly no longer becoming the case for climate change, however its undoubtedly relevant for privacy – can you really tell me who you allow to access your data and what they do with it? Thirdly, they both have tipping points, points of no return. For climate change, it’s a function of degrees. For data, it’s a function of reliance. Both are equally concerning. Finally (I could go on), they don’t have immediate effects. We’ve been burning gas for decades with little in the way of consequence. In the same way, we’re only just starting to wake up to the fact that trading data for convenience may be a rabbit hole we may not want to head down.
But enough of similarities. This exercise in comparison unfortunately revealed to me a rather stark difference between these two trends – one that certainly goes in the depressing pile. This difference lies in what we can do to change things. While the solution to climate change comes as a seemingly natural progression, removing our reliance on data now requires a fundamental change to the socio-economy. We can replace petrol engines with electric engines, sure. It may not be easy, but we’ll do it. Removing data from its cornerstone position in the economy however, isn’t such a simple step. The reason is simple – it’s a step back. Electricity, hydrogen, what ever the solution to fossil fuels may be, seems like a step forward. But there’s no such step forward when it comes to data, just increasing reliance. And if there’s one thing humans don’t do, it’s step back.
So now I try not to reflect on the future so much. When I do, I’m concerned by ideas of a stratified society, split into those who can afford not to share their data, and those who can’t. Privacy, like food, health and shelter, may just become another commodity of inequality. Let’s hope not.
