What are the Ethical Implications of Artificial Intelligence & Big Data?
Have you heard or did you hear about the Cambridge Analytics Data Scandal? This is a typical example of just how much is at stake when it comes to big data and artificial intelligence in Marketing. The advent of these new technologies has become the backbone of the success for a number of renowned multinational corporations including Google, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Amazon, Alibaba etc. As more organizations jump onto the big data craze and AI technology as marketing tools, certain questions arise. A review of ethical implications of the technology demands answering certain concerns on big data and AI based marketing strategies and decision-making processes used presently. Looking at Big data and AI intelligence we must consider; the negative ethical implications of this new technology, how far is too far?
Functions and problems of Big Data
Big data is now big business but has become a tool for manipulation. Big data has enabled companies to better target the changing needs of customers; developing relevant, rich and needs oriented content but this has come at a cost. Organizations like Google and Facebook are now generating huge chunks of their revenue from big data. Big data is a big business because of the high accuracy levels of collected data that have helped make major organizational decisions in real time. Through data harvesting, organizations are now able to understand the needs of their target customers recognize the changing needs of every customer and respond appropriately in real time. This has created the problem of privacy breaches and user manipulation based on their personal information. Because of this level of accuracy, data can be manipulated and used to target individual vulnerabilities considered as weaknesses for eases of manipulation in crucial decision-making aspects such as elections.
Ethical Concerns
Another major ethical concern is the issue of selling private user data to third parties. Companies like Google and Facebook have been found to sell user data and information to third party organizations at a profit. This is a growing concern, because there is no telling what extents, these organizations go to obtain the data and how much of the private user data is being given out. Additionally, most users don’t really know when, why and how their data is harvested, what is harvested and how this data is used. Companies like Cambridge analytics was able to use private user information to create targeted advertisements, which helped dissuade the electorate to vote in certain patterns. There are many other instances of user privacy violations and undesired targeted advertising which point to just how serious this problem will become as more organizations, governments and the general population joint the online data harvesting and artificial intelligence technology bandwagon.
Here are some facts about AI & Big Data
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