If you fight you won’t always win. But if you don’t fight you will always lose - Bob Crow
Today, when I think of all the advances that have been made in the field of computer science, one word instantly pops up in my mind, i.e. Data. For ages, humans have valued data and attached a monetary value to it. In the early days of civilization, data was used to keep track of inventories of food, medicine, etc.[1] With inventions and experimentation, data was means to keep track of tasks performed, so one can retrace their steps. With time, the purpose and ways of data collection have changed tremendously.
Today, the term data is often perceived in a negative sense, because over the years large corporations have collected and utilized users’ data as a medium of earning money. These corporations have exploited this data for their good. What money and resources are in the physical world, data has become in the virtual world. Data exploitation was one of the primary reasons why hackers were born. Hackers exploit the weakness of computer security, try to gain access to data they aren’t authorized to, and then sell this data in the physical world in exchange for money and resources.
When we think about all the above curses of data, we almost feel that the world would have been a better place if humans never collected data in the first place.
But, don’t the benefits of data collection outweigh the negative impact it has on our world?
Let’s find out.
Data collection and analysis have proved to be beneficial across various industries, but one domain that especially pops up is the healthcare industry. Starting with the development of new vaccines and medicines by analyzing data collected from patients across the world. Next, this helps medical staff to make well-informed decisions by utilizing artificial intelligence systems to analyze past data to make future predictions and treat patients accordingly.[2]
Similar benefits have been observed across other industries like education, transport, etc.
So what’s the answer then, Boon or Bane?
People might say, there are two sides to each coin, and we just have to live with the fact that the inventions that can be used for the greater good, can also be exploited and used for evil.
While there might not be one definite way forward, I believe we should never stop trying to overcome evil. We can’t deny the fact that there are humans out there who want to target and harm other humans, and thus we have to continue fighting against such people, hoping one day we get rid of the evil and leave the next generation with a safer virtual and physical world.
Peace ✌️
References:
[1] https://gutcheckit.com/blog/a-history-of-data/
[2] https://www.foreseemed.com/importance-of-data-collection-in-healthcare