BIG DATA - (A REVOLUTION THAT WILL TRANSFORM HOW WE LIVE, WORK AND THINK) - A REVIEW

PRELIMINARY INFORMATION
Title: BIG DATA

Authors: VIKTOR MAYER-SCHÖNBERGER AND KENNETH CUKIER

Language: English

Genre: Non-Fiction

Pagination: 245

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Place of Publication: New York.

Date of Publication: 2013.

ISBN: 978-0-544-00269-2

INTRODUCTION
“Big data” is a revelatory exploration of the hottest trend in technology and the dramatic impact
it will have on the economy, science, and society at large. It intends to explain where we are, trace how
we got here, and offer an urgently needed guide to the benefits and dangers that lie ahead. Big data
refers to the authors’ newfound ability to crunch a vast quantity of information, analyze it instantly and
draw sometimes astonishing conclusions from it. Big data will change the way we think about business,
health, politics, education, and innovation in the years to come.

Victor Mayer-Schönberger is a Professor of Internet governance and regulation at the Oxford Internet
Institute, Oxford University and a widely recognized authority on big data making him on the advisory
boards of corporations and organizations around the world, including Microsoft and the World
Economic Forum while Kenneth Cukier is the data editor of the Economist and a prominent
commentator on developments in big data, some of which have appeared in Foreign Affairs, the New
York Times, the Financial Times, and elsewhere.

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SUMMARY OF TEXT
Chapter one explains that data is no longer regarded as static or stale, but rather, data has
become a raw material of business, a vital economic input used to create a new form of economic
value. In describing this fact, the authors’ explained how Google could predict the spread of the
winter flu (H1N1) in the United States, not just nationally, but down to specific regions and even
states. Google did this by taking 50 million most common search terms that Americans type and
compared the list with data from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on the spread
of the flu between 2003 and 2008. Their software found a combination of 45 search terms that,
when used together in a mathematical model, had a strong correlation between their prediction and
the official figures nationwide. Like the CDC they could tell where the flu had spread, but unlike the
CDC they could tell it in near real time. This was so because the Google method wasn’t based on
mouth swabs or contacting physicians’ offices but rather, it was built on “big data”. In a similar
fashion, Oren Etzoni in 2003 needed to flu from Seattle to Los Angeles and thought the earlier you
book, the less you pay, but found that even those who booked later than him paid less. He was then
determined to figure out a way for people to know if a ticket price they see online is a good deal or
not. The result from his research by 2012 was making the correct call 75 percent of the time and
saving travelers, an average $50 per ticket. All these go to show that big data is all about predictions.
It is not about trying to teach a computer or think like humans instead it’s about applying maths to
huge quantity of data in order to infer probabilities.

Chapter two shows that most of our experiences and the design of our institutions have presumed
that the availability of information is limited but recently private firms and even individuals have
been able to collect and sort information on a massive scale. In the past, this task fell more to
powerful institutions like the church and the state. With this availability of relatively unlimited
information, the concept of sampling no longer makes as much sense when we can harness large
amounts of data. This is evident from the Google Flu Trends which didn’t rely on a small random
sample but instead uses billions of Internet search queries in the United States. Similarly, Oren
Etzoni of Farecast initially used 12,000 data points, a sample, and it performed well. But as Etzoni
added more data, the quality of the predictions increased. This goes to show that the bigger the
data, the better the results. The chapter also stated the fact that we still live in a resource-
constrained world and hence making use of all the data instead of a sample isn’t always necessary.
But in an increasing number of cases, and doing so is feasible now where before it was not.

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 Chapter three shows that using all available data is feasible in an increasing number of contexts but
comes with a cost, which is its messiness- a term that refers to the simple fact that the likelihood of
errors increases as you add more data points. Messiness can also refer to the inconsistency of
formatting, for which the data needs to be cleaned before being processed. Messiness can increase
by combining different types of information from different sources, which don’t always align
perfectly. This shows that big data transforms figures into something more probabilistic or precise.
This is not to say that messiness is inherent to big data, but instead it is a function of the
imperfection of the tools used to measure, record, and analyze information. In many areas of
technology and society we are leaning in favour of more and messy over fewer and exact because
more data though messy are available in real time, which gives decision makers a significant
advantage than the lag involved in fewer data though more exact. This clearly shows that what we
lose in accuracy at the micro level we gain in insight at the macro level.

Chapter four tells us that correlations are useful in a small-data world, but in the context of big data
they really shine. This is because correlations let us analyze a phenomenon not by shedding light on
its inner working but by identifying a useful proxy for it thereby enabling us capture the present and
predict the future. We have seen such strong correlations with the Google Flu Trends: the more
people in a particular geographic location search for particular terms through Google, the more
people in that location have the flu. It is quite possible that two things may behave similarly just by
coincidence, which shows that even strong correlations are never perfect because we may be fooled
by randomness, but if a correlation is strong, the likelihood of a link is high. The chapter goes further
to state that hypotheses are no longer crucial for correlational analysis today with so much data
around and more to come, as was the case in a small-data world, where both causal investigations
and correlation analysis began with a hypothesis, which was tested to either be falsified or verified.
Causal connections as against correlation analysis and similar non-causal methods which are based
on hard data are seen as the result of fast thinking. This is because causal links are not easily shown
mathematically as they tell us “the why” as against correlations which tell us “the what”. Finally, the
chapter explains that big-data analysis is based on theories unencumbered by the conventional
thinking and inherent biases implicit in the theories of a specific field.

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 Chapter five tends to draw a line between datafication and digitization. Datafication is to put a
phenomenon in a quantified format so it can be tabulated and analyzed, while digitization is the
process of converting analog information into zeros and ones of binary code so computers can
handle it. In short, digitization turbocharges datafication. The ability to record information is one of
the lines of demarcation between primitive and advanced societies because quantification enables
prediction and thus planning. The chapter goes further to show the role of datafication in
transforming words, locations, interventions and virtually everything into data with a little
imagination.

Chapter six shows that with big data, the value of data is changing. Although data has long been
valuable, it was either seen as ancillary to the core operations of running a business, or limited to
relatively narrow categories such as intellectual property or personal information. In contrast, in the
age of big data, all data will be regarded as valuable, in and of itself. Data is seen as a “non-rivalrous”
good because it can be used many times for the same purpose, harnessed for multiple purposes and
one person’s use of it does not impede another’s. The value of data is what one can gain from all the
possible ways it can be employed. All this suggests that data’s full value is much greater than the
value extracted from its first use but most data loses some of its utility over time, in such
circumstances continuing to rely on old data doesn’t just fail to add value, it actually destroys the
value of fresher data. The chapter goes further to discuss the value of open data and gives examples
of countries like the United States, Britain, Australia, Brazil, Chile and Kenya that have issued and
implemented open-data strategies.

Chapter seven explains that as big data becomes a source of competitive advantage for many
companies, the structure of entire industries will be reshaped. The rewards however, will accrue
unequally and the winners will be found among large and small firms, squeezing out the mass in the
middle. This shows that for mid-sized companies, big data is less helpful, but there are scale
advantages to the very large and cost and innovation advantages to the small. Also, big data is
poised to disrupt the competitive advantages of states. This is because at a time when
manufacturing has been largely lost to developing countries and innovation seems to be up for
grabs, industrialized nations retain an advantage in that they hold the data and know how to use it,
but this advantage is not sustainable because as big data makes increasingly accurate predictions
about the world and our place in it, we may not be ready for its impact on our privacy and our sense
of freedom.

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 Chapter eight explores the dark side of data by explaining that data paralyzes privacy as well as
makes predictions, which are sometimes misleading. This is because big-data predictions about
individuals may be used to punish people for their propensities, not their actions. This denies
freewill and erodes human dignity. Also, aside eroding privacy and threatening freedom, big data
exacerbates a dictatorship problem, which might result in relying on the numbers for decision
making when they are far more fallible than we think.

Chapter nine shows that to temper big data’s dark side calls for a paradigmatic change rather than a
parametric one. This is because to protect privacy requires that big-data users become more
accountable for their actions. At the same time, society will have to redefine the very notion of
justice to guarantee human freedom to act and lastly, new institutions and professionals will need
to emerge to interpret the complex algorithms that underlie big-data findings, and to advocate for
people who might be harmed by big data. The authors envision external algorithmists acting as
impartial auditors to review the accuracy or validity of big-data prediction whenever the
government requires it, such as under court order or regulation and internal algorithmist who work
inside an organization to look out not just for the company’s interests but also for the interests of
people who are affected by its big-data analysis. The authors are confident that with privacy,
propensity and algorithm auditing the dark side of big data will be contained.

Chapter ten tells us that big data helps us to do what we already do better, and it allows us to do
new things althogether. Big data can’t make a baby but it can save premature ones. It won’t bring
about world peace or eradicate poverty but it may well affect how we think about the future
because we will expect it to be used in almost every facet of life.

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CRITIQUE
Big data! Big data!! Big data!!! Which paint colour is most likely to tell you that a car is in good shape?
How can officials identify the most dangerous New York City manholes before they explode? And how
did Google searches predict the spread of the H1N1 flu outbreak? The key to answering these questions,
and many more, is big data. Big data marks an important step in humankind’s quest to quantify and
understand the world. The book analysed the pros and cons of big data and provided possible ways
around the cons, which gave the book its balance. Examples used in the book are recent such as the
Google Flu Trend research. It’s also vast in terms of explaining the usefulness of researches done with
big data in all facets of human endeavour. The book was simply written and was intended for a general
audience.

In complementing the efforts of the authors, some other big data pundits make the following
comments:
 "Big Data breaks new ground in identifying how today’s avalanche of information fundamentally
shifts our basic understanding of the world. Argued boldly and written beautifully, the book
clearly shows how companies can unlock value, how policymakers need to be on guard, and
how everyone’s cognitive models need to change." —JOI ITO, director, MIT Media Lab
 “Big data is a must-read for anyone who wants to stay ahead of one of the key trends defining
the future of business.”—MARC BENIOFF, chairman and CEO, salesforce.com
 “Every decade, there are a handful of books that change the way you look at everything. This is
one of those books. Society has begun to reckon the change that big data will bring. This book is
an incredibly important start.” —LAWRENCE LESSIG, Roy L. Furman Professor of Law, Harvard
Law School, and author of Remix and Free Culture
 "The book teems with great insights into the new ways of harnessing information and offers a
convincing vision of the future. It is essential reading for anyone who uses- or is affected by- big
data.” —JEFF JONAS, IBM fellow and chief scientist, IBM Entity Analytics
 “An optimistic and practical look at the big-data revolution- just the thing to get your head
around the big changes already under way and the bigger changes to come.” —CORY
DOCTOROW, boingboing.com
 “This brilliant book cuts through the mystery and the hype surrounding big data. A must-read for
anyone in business, information technology, public policy, intelligence, and medicine. And
anyone else who is just plain curious about the future.” —JOHN SEELY BROWN, former chief
scientist, Xerox Corporation, and head of Xerox’s Palo Alto Research Center
 “Just as water is wet in a way that individual water molecules aren’t, big data can reveal
information in a way that individual bits of data can’t. The authors show us the surprising ways
that enormous, complex, and messy collections of data can be used to predict everything from
shopping patterns to flu outbreaks.” —CLAY SHIRKY, author of Cognitive Surplus and Here
Comes Everybody

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The book is not without its flaws:
 In citing examples of the use of big-data the book was skewed towards the experiences of the
developed nations (America in particular) thereby neglecting that of developing and other
developed nations.
 The authors explained extensively the importance of big-data, highlighted its dark-sides, went
on to provide possible solutions to this dark side but failed to realise that some nations of the
world particularly Nigeria cannot access or harness this big data because of the level of literacy,
prevailing value systems, religion and poverty.
 The book was narrow in scope as it was basically on big-data from its beginning to end without
presenting for the readers’ pleasure other variants of big-data or related concepts.

RECOMMENDATION
A poor man who cannot have three square meals in a day cannot think about big-data. Hence this book
calls for our policy makers to devote higher premium to the Educational system in Nigeria, because by
doing so, the citizens become empowered economically, thereby increasing economic growth via
increased economic activities and poverty reduction. Also, Education will bring about a complete change
in the value systems and increase the level of Information and Communications Technology (ICT), which
will bring about better means of data collection, management and analysis. This is the way forward for
Nigeria if we want to reap the benefits inherent in big-data as cited in the book in the coming years.
Therefore, I recommend this book to all interested in knowing about the benefits inherent in big-data as
well as Statisticians and Data Analysts, Economists, Policy makers, academics and Managers.

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