The extent of data usage has yet to see its peak, CA is just the tip of the iceberg...

Cambridge Analytica is just the tip of a huge iceberg full of data. The enhancements of AI and data analytic algorithms already offer far more than most realise and the risk of this being used for good or bad equally likely. Facebook holds the equivalent of 120+ ebooks of data on every user on average however this falls into insignificance when compared with the likes of Google or Apple.

For me it is not a surprise that these three mentioned organisations, and we can extend this to Amazon and Microsoft are some of the biggest investors in artificial intelligence technology. The driver being more targeted understanding of your personal behaviours to optimise conversion rates for buyers, targeted marketing at timely points or to further value in an ecosystem of partners. 

AI is an incredibly powerful technology that will offer life-changing enhancements over the next few years however people should understand the driver for the development. The driver targeting the evolution of marketing and personal data exploitation or monetisation…. Consider the developments in home assistants and the amount of data these collect in the form of audio. If you own one (or more) Google Home, HomePod or Alexa device you will know that these offer individual persona identification already. 

The dichotomy is of course the benefit to you as an individual with a great customer experience, for many this is an acceptable payoff, however the potential for more profound usage of your data has had the recent wake-up call in the most public of ways driving political impact.

The potential for further interpretation and usage of data doesn’t stop with audio, buying patterns, browser searches, likes and friendships. Consider the enhancements of image recognition which includes video and the ability for the interpretation of not just your family and friends but the background in your rooms, colours, style etc. 

Consider further the location and GPS data tracking and Google or Apple understanding where you are and where you have been and being able to predict patterns of life. Again, very useful to tailor your journey to work or home however also very valuable to some Google partners. In fact, your mobile phone is potentially the single largest source of personal data without you ever touching a social media site. 

Consider for a second the accelerometer in your phone or if not your phone your fitbit or fitness watch, yes it holds data, speed, maybe your sleep pattern or heart rates. Less obvious though is the insight that can be extracted from the accelerometer itself. 

Did you know you can personally be identified purely by the way you walk by your accelerometer data?

Human Activity Recognition is a field of research that is several years old but the enhancements of wearable technology has seen continuous improvements in this field of research, 98% accuracy of this scenario has been seen recently. Purely from your mobile phone accelerometer, it is now possible to a high level of accuracy to recognise typical human movements including walking, running, hopping but also now eating, drinking, driving, smoking and about 6000 other movements!

I think it is only a matter of time until we see further cases that highlight the extent of data exploitation, will it stop me using my phone, of course not but if I was a criminal I would be every more concerned especially with the introduction of the new CLOUD act last week.

Lets hope that the largest consumers of our data protect it well, the insight available is incredibly powerful especially in the wrong hands. It would be incredibly reassuring to see all providers make much simpler statements that outline how they use your data and how it is protected, Facebook compared with many are actually quite transparent. It will certainly be interesting to see who will be next to be exposed in a similar CA scandal or how the other providers respond to the threat of such significant share price impact.