Data Science is Everywhere
Published Date: 07/21/2023 Author: Natan Aklilu
No matter how you look at it, data is taking over the world. In many ways, it has always been the focus of human civilization. Looking throughout history, humans relied on informal or formal data collection to tell them their survival rate during times of hardship, the efficiency of their agriculture, and now the success of their businesses. A broader look at data shows us that nature works in data sets as well when you look at the organization of DNA and the trends we can observe in climate around the world as well. The language of life is data so it is important to understand its extensive applications and how it affects us in our daily lives.
According to Tufts University, the human race generates an enormous 7.5 sextillion gigabytes of new data every single day. While there was still data to work with in the past, the rise of the internet and the vast expansion of industrial innovation has led to this boom in data to work with. Virtually everything we use on a daily basis is infused with systems that automatically generate data from our phones to vehicles to even appliances. It is important to know that this large increase in data has led to an aggressive battle between companies on who can best utilize the data. Data-driven decisions are the main money-makers for businesses because it helps them predict the future based on consumer analytics to reap financial benefits. Most of the time, you are not even aware that you are leaving a huge digital footprint for corporations to follow (digital cookies for example). All of the different methods of data tracking are used to tailor your online experience to be the most useful and attention-grabbing for you as possible. The goal here is to guide you towards avenues in which the company can make money off of you or promote advertisers that you are likely to align with who will fund the company in return. It is all a big game in which everyone is a player in a game run by corporations.
On the topic of predictions using data, CU GeoData’s water subteam is currently investing its efforts into producing a predictive model of harmful algal blooms (HABs) in Cayuga Lake. This is a key interest for the region because HABs are toxic to humans and wildlife in the area along with detrimental to the surrounding economy. In a way, this tracking of HAB data and utilization of different features to best predict where HAB will occur next is similar to what companies do when they use the data sets from our online activity to profit. It is a difference in goals that makes GeoData a different area of data science, but it is all data science nonetheless. The same underlying principles of data analytics are being applied and these applications will only expand as we move into the future. Terabytes of collected data will continue to be analyzed for a plethora of reasons and tech companies like Google and Amazon are not the only ones with their foot on the gas. Companies that implement data-driven marketing have a clear 20% increased revenue according to the Boston Consulting Group so it goes further than you may think. Although an estimated 32% of the massive amount of data collected by businesses is actually analyzed, the benefits are obvious and entrepreneurs around the world will be closing this gap. With both positive and negative implications for society, it is inevitable that data science will keep growing into every facet of society and it is our job to ensure that predatory economic uses are not the sole reason for this important field.
