Terms of Service: Understanding our Role in the World of Big Data • By Michael Keller and Josh Neufeld • Al Jazeera America

Data Humanism: Story of Me

Bhakti Shah
Nov 3 · 2 min read

Mimi Onuoha asks — “How does our attitude towards data change if we see it as the result of a relationship rather than an end in itself?” Imagine you were to start collecting data about yourself over the next ten years (2020–2030) to store in a time capsule. What data would you collect and why?”

This prompt and subject made me think about the relationship between humans and data. We have an inherent need to create a record. Be it through pictures clicked, stories and scriptures written and videos recorded. Why do we create this data for ourselves? Is it to understand trends? Pass on our history or just for the sake of memories?

In Giorgia Lupi’s talk about her experience of sharing daily data with a penpal, she wanted her data to tell a story through visualizations. The detail at which she mapped her data, kept me in awe but also made me realize if you are collecting the data, doesn’t one go in a hyper-aware mode and is so lost in the details of data collection that perhaps is not living in the present?

I would love to collect my feelings felt. Feelings felt is very important because our brain tends to have a peak-end effect. We remember only the peak or the end and, not the average so I would want to see how my emotions varied over 10 years. (Thanks to Atharva Kelkar for this discussion)

I would also want to catalog the kind of people I have conversations with. The kind of people I am in touch with, the new set of people I met, is it through work, travel, friends or social media? How have my relationships progressed over the years? Friends made, friends lost, friends with whom I have reconnected.

It would be great to also see that with the passing years if I am growing as a person. This might be a very vague dataset. How do you define “growing as a person”. Perhaps for me, emotional maturity is a strong enough indicator of that. My actions and reactions. Same incident but are they changing with time?

While it must have been fun for Giorgia Lupi to collect her data over a month, but over 10 years? I am not so sure about this. It would be interesting to see all the data mentioned above visualized but I am not quite sure if I would do it.

Written by

MPS Student @ CMU School of Design

Welcome to a place where words matter. On Medium, smart voices and original ideas take center stage - with no ads in sight. Watch
Follow all the topics you care about, and we’ll deliver the best stories for you to your homepage and inbox. Explore
Get unlimited access to the best stories on Medium — and support writers while you’re at it. Just $5/month. Upgrade