Q&A with Professor Wendy Hall
1) What do you understand by the term Big Data? What is the relevance of Big Data in public policy
and governance?
Big data is essentially a popular term used to describe extremely large and unwieldy datasets that are
too complex for traditional data analysis computers to handle. It is a very relative term – today’s big
data is tomorrow’s small data. As the processing power of computers get faster, big data will not be ‘big’
anymore.
We live in an age of constant data generation. If such data can be analysed and interpreted using proper
technologies, it can change the way we do things. Climate science is a really good example of effective
use of big data – detailed data of thousands of variables from all over the world are fed into complex
computer models that then help us understand the evolution of climate and predict future patterns. The
UK Government has highlighted big data as one of the eight ‘great challenges technologies’ of the future
that investment will be focused upon. Most recently, the British government announced the start of the
Alan Turing Institute which will try to bring together expertise from across the country for research into
big data. However, researchers also have difficulty aligning their research interests with those mandated
by the government – so the government needs to allow greater freedom and independence so that
research goals are not compromised and are fully realised.
2) You are one of the founders of ‘Web Science’. Could you explain exactly what Web Science refers
to and talk a little about the Web Observatory that you launched in Bangalore recently?
The Internet is a modern marvel which is unparalleled in its sheer impact and rate of adoption. Web
Science is essentially a new discipline that aims to understand the Web, how it evolves, and how it
impacts human society. It is essential to do this in order to leverage the power of the Web to derive
greater social impact and benefit from it. The Web Science Research Initiative is a multi-disciplinary
project which aims to study the social and technological implications of growing web adoption. It seeks
the intersection of social scientists and computer analysts to understand and interpret data, based on its
nature, content, and context.
Part of this mission is a global network of ‘web observatories.’ Just like astronomical observatories
staring at the sky, these web observatories form a system that gathers existing data sets on the web and
creates new datasets to answer questions about the Web and its users. Unlike astronomical
observations however, the challenge is that the information changes by the mere act of observing it!
The initiative is big data and open data rolled into one, providing distributed data analytics that views
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the globe as a single interconnected digital planet. The International Institute of Information Technology
in Bangalore became the 15th university to create a Web Observatory and join a growing network of
seamless data sharing and analysis.
3) What do you understand by the Internet of Things (IoT)? What are the pros and cons?
The Internet of Things is essentially the idea that all objects will be connected to each other through the
internet – mobiles, cars, kitchen appliances, household objects etc. – everything will be seamlessly
connected to each other. It sounds like a wonderful idea but it is actually completely the opposite of
what Tim Berners Lee envisioned when he created the internet on single open protocol. The internet is a
free commons that everyone has equal and unrestricted access to. Anyone and everyone can start up a
browser and access a webpage from anywhere. The Internet of Things (IoT) on the other hand is
probably going to result in a great degree of segmentation with multiple standalone devices. It is going
to become like the mobile devices in our hands – each of which is supplied by a different vendor, has a
completely different set of protocols which restricts what we can do and what we can access. You could
have 5 different light bulbs in the room for example, each of which can’t communicate with the other
and runs on different protocols – creating an unnecessary complex experience. So, in that sense,
proprietary standards and interoperability is going to be the key determinant of how successful the IoT
ends up being.
4) What are the dangers of extensive data collection? Who should control the massive amounts of
data being generated?
One can already see the dangers of extensive data collection – we have governments snooping on each
other and on citizens, privacy rights being invaded etc. The growth of terror is often an excuse used by
governments to justify more intrusive data collection on citizens. There is no doubt that some of it is
legitimate, but at what cost? In the UK, citizen health data is already being sold to insurance companies
by governments and that is public knowledge. What are they going to do with all the additional data
they are collecting now? It is thus a major concern that governments may misuse all this data.
There is no doubt that government cannot not be allowed to control all data as it would result in a 1984
Orwellian dystopia. Government must only regulate the industry and allow open access to data to
academics, commercial enterprises and civil society. It is not just governments, even private players
having exclusive access to vital data may be dangerous. Already, there is a lack of data sharing within
and between government, civil society and private players. Google, for example, holds enormous
amounts of critical data - but no one has access to that. It belongs to one player only.
5) What is the importance of social media to the big data industry?
I’m happy to be proved wrong on this but I would contend that social media is one of the single biggest
sources of big data out there. Analysing social media data could have huge implications for public policy
and governance. For example, many election campaigns are increasingly being fought on social media
nowadays. The Obama campaign is a perfect example of that. Closer to home, the AAP victory in Delhi
also stands testament to the effective use of social media. What this essentially means is that we are
getting closer to a reality where control over social media gives you control over an election. And big
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data analytics will play a huge role in determining who has the resources to craft the best social media
strategy and therefore determine who wins an election. This has profound implications for democracy.
6) Privacy is always one of the foremost concerns when talking about big data. What do you see as
the future of data privacy?
Nowadays, we sign huge 100 page contracts with governments, private players etc. to control data
access. Oftentimes, we don’t even understand what we are signing or who gets access to what data
since the entire process is so complex. If I was to look at the future, I can say without doubt that we
were moving towards a scenario where data access would be very easy to control since everyone would
have a chip embedded within their bodies – which will allow each person to individually decide who had
access to their private data. It solves the problems related to data privacy, though I am sure many
people might not be comfortable with it!
Another aspect of data privacy is the EU’s ‘Right to Forget’ legislation. It is an extremely interesting
concept and it remains to be seen how it affects the international movement.
© Oval Observer Foundation 2015
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Web: www.ovalobserver.org