Data sets have various applications in the real world. Depending on the contents of the data sets, they can be used to analyze the subject groups, to find patterns, to train machines… However, it can’t be ignored that data often carries biases, because of the way it is collected, the people who interpret it, the intention it is used for. While data sets can’t be purely objective in most cases, it doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t collect them. The patterns and tends reflected by the data sets are useful tools to understand certain phenomenon and demographics.
Data becomes meaningful when we impose a meaning on it. I would categorize the data into those that can be associated precisely back to our personal identity, and will lead to one and only one possibility(like biological data, ID number..) and those cannot. I think the intention behind data collection can be one of the determining factors of data collections. If the data collected is used for analyzing customer satisfaction or analyzing certain performances, I think it is justifiable as long as the collector keep to the boundaries. On the other hand, collecting data of the first category, while recognizing our individuality, makes me feel uncomfortable.
I guess for me the most common encounter with data collection is my personal data. Take public WIFI service as an example, coming here, it shocks me that I don’t have to put in my phone number in order to get connection. And there will be big, visible security warnings of privacy breaching. In comparison, back in China, I need to put in my phone number to get a verification code in order to stay connected in public spaces. What is most bizarre is when I was in Brazil, I was asked to put in my passport number for the WIFI service in the mall. ….? And in Brazil, you might be completely immobilized without the tax-payer number. I talked to a local and she told me that it might be the government wanting to track its citizen.
Additionally, coming here, I notice myself experiencing targeted ads all the time. Ads about the products that I browsed before are almost everywhere on the websites. These ads definitely come from the browsing data collected by the websites. So annoying :0
I always joke with my friends, saying that we are almost transparent in front of the government. However, even if we have nothing to hide, I don’t think data collection is justifiable, especially those without our knowledge. Even if it is just a data not associated with your identity, like your IP address, it can reflect where you’ve been to, how long you’ve stayed there, the frequency of you visiting certain places.
I think both art projects portray the individuals behind the data in a thought-provoking and uncanny way. Although none of the data in these projects point to a specific individual, by dismantling each individual data from the large bunk of data set reminds us of the fact that behind each number is a vivid individual. Sometimes we get numbed by the numbers, even though we might feel astonished, these cold numbers are just numbers. This reminds me of a class discussion I had on One Hundred Years of Solitude. One of my classmates pointed out that thinking about the people died in massacres, we might only be astonished by the bleak numbers in the archives. However, in Marquez’s narrative, the death of the people becomes so real and vivid; it is as if the readers are witnessing the death. I think in both cases, artworks and literature have the power to push the society to reflect, to think, to de-normalize the normalized.
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