“Data Sovereignty”: Turning our biggest threat into our greatest asset.
Data Sovereignty: Turning our biggest threat into our greatest asset.
Some moments in our lives leave such a deep impression that they become etched in our memory and profoundly alter the way we think about something.
For me, one of these moments happened a few years ago, cleaning up the kitchen while listening to the last chapter of Harari’s groundbreaking book Homo Deus.
Harari concluded that “Non-conscious but highly-intelligent algorithms might soon know us better than we know ourselves.”
Fast-forwarding a few years, tag-lines like: “Data is the new oil” and “AI is the new electricity” are all around us.
So What?
Meanwhile, we all realize that we spend significant parts of our lives connected to “the cloud.”
We became accustomed to highly personalized ads that lure us into buying things we don’t really need.
Up to this point, this might be an acceptable price to pay for the convenience and comfort we get from the “free” services offered by the tech giants of our society.
Furthermore, it’s our own responsibility to control our impulses. We still decide what we buy and what influences our thinking.
Highly personalized interactions engineered by an army of brilliant neuro-marketeers, combining a massive amount of your personal data and their extensive knowledge of cognitive psychology, have zero impact on our “free will.” We are in control! Are we really?
Even when we’re not “connected.” The phone in our pocket, the smartwatch on our wrist, and the “smart” smoke alarm on the ceiling are harvesting data about every move we make.
While all pieces of digital dust we leave behind on a daily basis might not mean a lot by itself, when combined, they can be used for purposes we can’t even start to imagine.
What’s the product? We are the product!
The benefits we enjoy from those “free” services are not proportional to the “price” we pay for them.
Let’s not return to the stone age. But take back control of our data!
As with any technological evolution, things will be used for both the good and the bad.
All data we generate, combined with the recent advances in the field of Artificial Intelligence, provide tremendous opportunities to take a giant leap in almost all areas of science, from which we can all reap incredible benefits.
Having the choice to share our personal data for the right purpose, in the proper context, with explicit individual consent, and mutual trust is fundamental.
Not only to our human rights but also to unlock the potential of emerging technologies and sustainable digital ecosystems to extract meaningful insights from our data. Restoring the balanced relationship between individuals and organisations.
That’s precisely the idea behind the concept of “Data Sovereignty.”
Empowering individuals by improving their right to self-determination regarding their personal data.
Please help create awareness and contribute to making Big Data and Artificial Intelligence our greatest asset instead of our biggest threat.
The shifts and principles laid out in the MyData Global Declaration aim at restoring balance and moving towards a human-centric vision of personal data.
