Do We Know What We Want?
I like to think of “big data” as data that can’t be stored in an Excel file. Data so large that requires its own field to find ways to analyze such amount of information. In our modern world, big data is used everywhere. Google suggesting our searches, YouTube recommending videos, and advertisements that pop up on the side of our browsers are all examples of big data being utilized by top companies. While big data typically pose ethical questions, I have one question regarding its epistemic values: with how prominent big data is, do we know what we want?
Big data is heavily used in large companies to analyze for better business moves and higher profits. The most famous example regarding big data is Target’s “pregnancy prediction” incident. Basically, Target managed to figure out when women are in their second trimester of pregnancy. Using this information, Target reels them in with coupons pertaining to their pregnancy. Even though other companies have access to public birth records, Target incentivizes pregnant women before anyone else. Target was even able to recognize a teen pregnancy before the father. It’s fascinating and quite scary how powerful big data is, and as technology advances, analyzing data will only become more accurate and precise.
Target isn’t the only company that is able to recognize what we want. Other retail stores are also able to recommend us their products that matches our needs. Big data also allows companies to figure out what we want in a non-materialistic sense. The biggest example regarding this is Google’s search predictions. With so many companies shoving their predictions down our throats, do we have a choice in what we want? Do we know what we want to purchase? Do we know what we want to search? Do we know what we want to watch? Do we choose based on what we want or based on their predictions?
I think most of us would like to think that we know what we want. Personally when it comes to physical things, I rarely go shopping just to shop. I usually only buy things because I’ve been thinking about it for a long time, and I typically don’t use coupons or sales promotions (which probably isn’t the best idea financially). So in a materialistic sense, I believe I know what I want.
However, Google’s autocomplete tends to be one of my best friends. I’ve been conditioned to the point where after writing a couple of words, I expect Google to finish my search request. In that case, did I know what I wanted to search from the start or was it because of Google’s search prediction? Sometimes, Google suggests a shorter version of what I wanted to type, but I still think I knew what I wanted to search (just not as efficient).
It’s hard to say whether or not we know exactly what we want or not, but there’s no doubt that big data influences our actions in some way. As technology advances and analyzing tools become more efficient, this question only gets harder to answer. Big data’s growth is inevitable and inescapable, and we have to be even more cautious in what we believe and what we want.
