Download Data Mining the World

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Data Mining the World
Data Mining the World
Lucas Damron
Virginia Commonwealth University
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Data Mining the World
Abstract
This papers goal is to inform the reader of two ethical issues that arise from Data Mining.
First by showing the concerns regarding how companies may infringe on privacy rights, by
intentionally or unintentionally using an individual’s collected data in a section labelled Issues
with Privacy. Secondly by revealing how data collection is processed and the flaws varying from
different companies depending on the size and value of the company in a section labelled The
Almost Lawless World of Data Mining. The essay will conclude by showing ss big data
continues to progress it is essential to beware with the lack of oversight and regulation when
dealing with data collection.
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Data Mining the World
Introduction
The rise of big data collection has become an essential tool for analyzing and innovating
the world. Big data collection or data mining is the process of analyzing data from different
perspectives and summarizing it into useful information that can help many different fields of
study. For instance a grocery store can use a scanner to read and store your purchases in a large
computer that can then sift through and create consumer profile associated with the items you
buy and then target what coupons to send out to you in order to create a greater chance of your
return to their store. This basic example can be expanded and applied to many different fields
though and begins to create many different ethical dilemmas. This essay seeks to present two
main ethical debates, how data mining may breech an individual’s privacy along with how data
mining uses its collective data.
Issues with Privacy
We live in a society where we have vast information at the reach of our fingertips, but many
do not think about the implications of our actions regarding the internet, credit card, and
application use. Every search you enter into your internet browser, every time you swipe your
credit card, every time you accept the terms and conditions on your social media fix you are
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agreeing to be used for statistical evidence. By doing this you are submitting yourself to be
grouped, labelled, and analyzed more than likely without your acknowledgement. Bill Schmarzo,
chief technology officer for EMC Global Services says “I think the biggest concerns are related
to organizations using my personal identifiable data, usage and storage against me,” (Martin,
2014) which has become a growing concern for most people when we already live in an almost
transparent society. Bill then goes on to explain “an embarrassing incident for Target in 2012,
when it sent coupons to a teenager for baby products by analyzing her shopping patterns. The
girl’s father complained, only to find out that his daughter was expecting a baby, something he
discovered only because of Target's custom advertising technology” (Martin, 2014). This
example is just one of the many that create a negative connotation with data mining’s probing of
personal data. Amartya Bhattacharjya, director of segment management at Unica in Waltham,
Mass. shows what he sees as the two problems with data mining, “One, where consumers have
the choice of providing businesses with their information but lack understanding of how their
data will be used, who has access to it, how long the data will be kept and whether they can later
correct or remove the data…The other scenario is when consumers have enough information, but
they are not in a position to negotiate with companies…As a result of incursions into their
personal space, consumers have rallied for stronger government regulation and new technologies
to help preserve their privacy"(Shermach, 2006). While data mining may create what feels like
life under a microscopic view it does come with many new and innovative methods that may also
benefit society.
The Almost Lawless World of Data Mining
Data mining serves for a major purpose around the world and in many different aspects in
life that many do not even recognize, while some may feel that it creates privacy concerns, the
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out product it provides may give some warrant to its in-depth analysis. For marketing and retail
purposes, data mining can help create new models based on historical data to predict who will
respond to marketing campaigns, and through the results, companies will be able to see an
appropriate approach to selling their products. For financing and banking purposes data mining
gives financial institutions different information regarding credit card history that can serve as
for determining good or bad loans, along with helping detect fraudulent transactions to help
protect the credit card’s owner. This can create a problem though for some for instance there is a
story of a man from Atlanta “ who returned from his honeymoon to find his credit limit slashed
from $10,800 to $3,800 simply because he had used his credit card at places where other people
were likely to have a poor repayment history”(Jerome, 2013). While this specific example shows
a gap in the usefulness of data mining, we have to realize that data mining in itself is neutral and
has the potential for good and bad.
Hui Xiong, associate professor of management science and information systems at
Rutgers Business School, New Jersey explains how companies can create algorithms in order to
help protect an individual’s identity, “if the data shows 50 people following a particular shopping
pattern, stop there and act on that data rather than mining further and potentially exposing
individual behavior”( Martin, 2014), he proceeds to follow up with “big data collection in itself
is pure technology; the ethics come into place through scientists and company
directives…However, many traditional retailers haven’t grasped the potential of data mining yet,
he says, so they haven’t put the necessary safeguards in place to protect consumers”(Martin,
2014). Though data mining has been going on for hundreds of years, it hasn’t ignited until we
brought forth new computer systems that could keep up and revolutionize data collection;
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government regulation and extensive knowledge may be the best step in the progression for data
mining.
Conclusion
Philosopher Karl Popper came up with a principle that can be applied when analyzing
data, “A general law can never be verified by a finite number of observation. It can, however, be
falsified by the only one observation”(Adriaans, p.16), when analyzing data, researchers need to
remember that data mining pulls many correlational factors, but correlations does not always
equal causation, and that statistics are always subject to interpretation. Companies such as
Google, Amazon, Facebook, etc. have some of the most private information which also leads to a
higher regard for caring for the personal information, these company set up strong safeguards in
order to protect and analyze the information gathered and their data scientist are very careful
before publishing any findings; many companies just have a foot in the door of data mining and
they should use companies like Google as a learning guide on to how to properly manage and
maintain data collection in order to progress and take the ethical concerns out of the question.
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Work Cited
Adriaans, P. (1996). Data Mining. Harlow: Addison Wesley Longman.
Jerome, J. W. (2013, September 3). Buying and Selling Privacy Big Data's Different Burdens and Benefits.
Retrieved from Stanford Law Review: http://www.stanfordlawreview.org/online/privacy-andbig-data/buying-and-selling-privacy
Martin, E. R. (2014, March 27). The Ethics Of Big Data. Retrieved from Forbes: http://www.forbes.com
Shermach, K. (2006, August 25). Data Mining: Where Legality and Ethics Rarely Meet. Retrieved from ECommerce Times: http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/52616.html