Tyranny typically occurs when citizens share their data (willingly) to achieve safety but end up losing control of it, writes Feras A. Batarseh

Batarseh., Feras A.

English

LSE Research Online

Pandemics and big data tyranniesLSE Research Online URL for this paper: http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/104961/Version: Published VersionOnline resource:Batarseh., Feras A. (2020) Pandemics and big data tyrannies. USApp – American Politics and Policy Blog (16 May 2020). Blog Entry. lseresearchonline@lse.ac.ukhttps://eprints.lse.ac.uk/ ReuseItems deposited in LSE Research Online are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved unless indicated otherwise. They may be downloaded and/or printed for private study, or other acts as permitted by national copyright laws. The publisher or other rights holders may allow further reproduction and re-use of the full text version. This is indicated by the licence information on the LSE Research Online record for the item.Pandemics	and	big	data	tyranniesTyranny	typically	occurs	when	citizens	share	their	data	(willingly)	to	achieve	safety	but	end	up	losingcontrol	of	it,	writes	Feras	A.	Batarseh.Computer	security	threats	can	make	the	internet	a	dangerous	place.	Computer	viruses	(such	asStuxnet	and	CryptoLocker)	can	quickly	spread	throughout	a	network,	infect	your	device,	and	takeover	your	virtual	identity.	A	virus	can	send	emails	on	your	behalf,	make	bank	withdrawals,	post	aprivate	picture	on	your	favourite	social	media	platform,	or	share	your	latest-greatest	dance	moves	onTikTok.	Luckily,	however,	you	don’t	have	to	embarrass	yourself,	because	anti-virus	software	tools	are	here	to	therescue!	They	can	detect	the	virus	and	quarantine	it.	Anti-virus	companies	always	provide	an	updated	version	toinclude	electronic	anti-bodies	for	all	novel	viruses.	If	a	virus	is	programmed	by	some	teenage	hacker,	anti-viruscompanies	work	harder	and	faster	to	code	the	anti-virus	and	spread	it	to	all	users	as	swiftly	as	possible.More	dangerously,	computer	viruses	can	attack	infrastructures,	including	electric	grids,	nuclear	plants,	and	anyother	vital	vein	of	society.	For	instance,	many	hospitals	use	computerised	medical	equipment,	tele-health	devices,and	in	some	cases	robotics	–	all	of	which	are	hackable	and	prone	to	viruses.	Imagine	losing	many	patients	becausedevices	in	the	operation	room	didn’t	function	as	they	should	due	to	a	computer	virus?	Woulddoctors/nurses/patients	vote	to	retire	all	computer	devices,	close	the	hospital,	stay	home,	and	only	keep	anti-virussoftware	companies	open	so	they	can	battle	the	computer	virus?	I	guess	you	would	think	to	yourself:	No.During	outlier	events	such	as	the	Covid-19	outbreak,	most	models	from	the	US	Centers	for	Disease	Control	andPrevention	(CDC)	and	the	World	Health	Organisation	(WHO)	were	way	off	(predictions	were	very	different	fromactual	values).	The	reason	is	that	those	models	were	built	with	limited	data,	without	looking	into	external	factorsaffecting	the	forecasts,	and	without	considering	multivariate	outliers.	Those	models	exacerbated	the	caseof	misinformation	in	the	nation.	Albeit	most	traditional	economic	models	deploy	causality	analysis	to	infer	policy,regular	models	don’t	account	much	for	outliers,	and	most	analysts	deal	with	outliers	based	on	human	experience	orelimination	of	such	events	from	predictive	models.As	the	price	of	misinformation	dissemination	during	a	catastrophe	can	only	be	comprehensively	measured	inretrospect,	it	is	important	to	not	dumb	down	the	metrics	of	success	or	failure	to	the	total	of	positive	Covid-19	cases.It	is	imperative	to	achieve	an	equilibrium	between	national	productivity,	the	economy,	efficiency	of	healthcaresystems,	rural	areas	access,	urban	cities’	vigour,	well-being	of	the	healthy,	and	the	fate	of	the	sick.	We	cannotmanage	what	we	cannot	measure,	and	if	our	only	metric	during	such	exceptional	times	is	one	number	(positivecases);	then	we	are	certainly	doomed	to	be	off-balance	and	fall-off.Moreover,	the	current	proposed	solutions	to	the	virus,	including	contact	tracing,	easing	of	e-health	recordsrestrictions,	smart-phone	tracking,	and	e-temperature	measurements	would	create	big	amounts	of	data	but	posemany	critical	questions:	Who	owns	the	health	data	generated	by	tracing?	Who	manages	the	data	generated	bytracking?	Are	they	selling	it	to	third	party	vendors?	And	how	are	they	protecting	the	data	infrastructure	fromcomputer	viruses	and	hacker	attacks?	As	global	interconnectedness	continues	to	grow,	more	and	more	people	arefinding	themselves	living	in	a	data	republic.	A	republic	that	ought	to	be	democratised,	but	a	typical	case	of	big	datatyranny	occurs	when	citizens	share	their	data	(willingly)	so	they	can	achieve	safety	and	good	health.	The	wisdom	ofBenjamin	Franklin	states	that:	“Those	who	would	give	up	essential	liberty	to	purchase	a	little	temporary	safety,deserve	neither”.	Once	we	give	up	our	data	liberties,	digital	social	distancing	would	not	be	a	choice	only	duringexceptional	times,	rather,	an	unavoidable	reality	of	electronic	isolation	and	easy	targeting.Data	democracy	allows	personal	data	ownership,	makes	data	available	to	citizens,	and	reduces	costs	to	popularise,disseminate,	and	crowd-source	data.	The	opposite	of	that	(i.e.	a	big	data	tyranny),	is	a	centralisation	of	all	personalhealth	datasets	in	the	hands	of	few	companies	or	entities	that	have	not	been	chosen	by	data	creators.	That	notiondictates	the	transformation	of	the	famous	saying	“data	is	the	new	oil”	(indicating	the	rising	power	of	data	in	theglobal	economy)	to	“data	is	the	new	blood”.USApp – American Politics and Policy Blog: Pandemics and big data tyrannies Page 1 of 3		Date originally posted: 2020-05-16Permalink: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/usappblog/2020/05/16/pandemics-and-big-data-tyrannies/Blog homepage: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/usappblog/Many	studies	compared	the	reactive	human	behaviour	during	the	Spanish	flu	pandemic	to	that	of	World	War	I	andWorld	War	II,	and	to	that	point,	a	story	begs	to	be	told	about	the	city	of	Pittsburgh.	By	the	1930s,	Pittsburgh	wasproducing	half	of	the	nation’s	demand	of	steel.	Steel	proved	invaluable	during	World	War	II.	Interestingly,	the	day	ofthe	Japanese	attack	upon	Pearl	Harbor	in	1941,	Pittsburgh	was	hosting	an	“America	must	stay	neutral	in	this	WorldWar”	event.	Although	the	city	was	reluctant	to	go	to	war,	once	war	was	inevitable,	the	city	mills	operated	24	hours	aday	to	produce	more	than	95	million	tons	of	steel	for	the	war	effort.	This	spike	in	production	created	a	workforceshortage,	which	led	to	a	major	reduction	in	unemployment	rates.	Steel	would	then	be	used	to	build	battleships,aircraft	carriers,	and	ammunition.	Recovering	from	Pearl	Harbor	would	have	been	considerably	delayed	withoutPittsburgh.	That	would’ve	possibly	provided	Japan	and	Germany	another	chance	to	launch	attacks	at	the	U.S.	andpotentially	tilt	the	outcome	of	the	war.During	crisis	times,	healthy	citizens	need	to	be	much	more	productive	than	usual,	and	not	less;	and	all	countriesneed	to	figure	out	ways	to	be	more	functional	during	pandemics.	Otherwise,	all	supply	chains	are	intercepted,	andeveryone	along	the	way	(liberal	or	conservative)	will	be	harmed.	While	expecting	health	and	safety	in	return,	youwill	feel	obliged	to	give	up	your	personal	privacy	in	the	shape	of	a	voluntary	health	data	donation.Contrary	to	that,	by	democratising	big	data	and	providing	the	right	information	to	the	public,	Nietzsche’s	old	adage“he	who	has	a	why	can	live	to	bear	almost	any	how”	can	be	deployed	to	call	for	action	and	march	forward	againstany	visible	or	invisible	enemy.This	blog	post	appeared	originally	on	LSE	Business	Review.Featured	image	by	geralt,	under	a	Pixabay	licencePlease	read	our	comments	policy	before	commenting	Note:	The	post	gives	the	views	of	its	authors,	not	the	position	USAPP–	American	Politics	and	Policy,	nor	of	theLondon	School	of	Economics.Shortened	URL	for	this	post:	https://bit.ly/3dT21Z0About	the	authorUSApp – American Politics and Policy Blog: Pandemics and big data tyrannies Page 2 of 3		Date originally posted: 2020-05-16Permalink: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/usappblog/2020/05/16/pandemics-and-big-data-tyrannies/Blog homepage: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/usappblog/Feras	A.	Batarseh	–	George	Mason	UniversityFeras	A.	Batarseh	is	a	research	assistant	professor	with	the	College	of	Science	at	George	MasonUniversity	(GMU).	His	research	spans	the	areas	of	data	science,	artificial	intelligence,	and	context-aware	software	systems.	Dr.	Batarseh	obtained	his	Ph.D.	and	M.Sc.	in	computer	engineering	fromthe	University	of	Central	Florida	(UCF)	(2007,	2011),	and	a	graduate	certificate	in	project	leadershipfrom	Cornell	University	(2016).	He	is	the	director	of	Turing	Research,	an	AI	for	policy	group	at	GMU.Additionally,	Dr.	Batarseh	published	and	edited	several	book	chapters.USApp – American Politics and Policy Blog: Pandemics and big data tyrannies Page 3 of 3		Date originally posted: 2020-05-16Permalink: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/usappblog/2020/05/16/pandemics-and-big-data-tyrannies/Blog homepage: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/usappblog/

Pandemics and big data tyrannies

Tyranny typically occurs when citizens share their data (willingly) to achieve safety but end up losing control of it, writes Feras A. Batarse

Pandemics	and	big	data	tyranniesComputer	security	threats	can	make	the	internet	a	dangerous	place.	Computer	viruses	(such	as	Stuxnet	andCryptoLocker)	can	quickly	spread	throughout	a	network,	infect	your	device,	and	take	over	your	virtual	identity.	Avirus	can	send	emails	on	your	behalf,	make	bank	withdrawals,	post	a	private	picture	on	your	favourite	social	mediaplatform,	or	share	your	latest-greatest	dance	moves	on	TikTok.	Luckily,	however,	you	don’t	have	to	embarrassyourself,	because	anti-virus	software	tools	are	here	to	the	rescue!	They	can	detect	the	virus	and	quarantine	it.	Anti-virus	companies	always	provide	an	updated	version	to	include	electronic	anti-bodies	for	all	novel	viruses.	If	a	virusis	programmed	by	some	teenage	hacker,	anti-virus	companies	work	harder	and	faster	to	code	the	anti-virus	andspread	it	to	all	users	as	swiftly	as	possible.More	dangerously,	computer	viruses	can	attack	infrastructures,	including	electric	grids,	nuclear	plants,	and	anyother	vital	vein	of	society.	For	instance,	many	hospitals	use	computerised	medical	equipment,	tele-health	devices,and	in	some	cases	robotics	–	all	of	which	are	hackable	and	prone	to	viruses.	Imagine	losing	many	patients	becausedevices	in	the	operation	room	didn’t	function	as	they	should	due	to	a	computer	virus?	Woulddoctors/nurses/patients	vote	to	retire	all	computer	devices,	close	the	hospital,	stay	home,	and	only	keep	anti-virussoftware	companies	open	so	they	can	battle	the	computer	virus?	I	guess	you	would	think	to	yourself:	No.During	outlier	events	such	as	the	Covid-19	outbreak,	most	models	from	the	US	Centers	for	Disease	Control	andPrevention	(CDC)	and	the	World	Health	Organisation	(WHO)	were	way	off	(predictions	were	very	different	fromactual	values).	The	reason	is	that	those	models	were	built	with	limited	data,	without	looking	into	external	factorsaffecting	the	forecasts,	and	without	considering	multivariate	outliers.	Those	models	exacerbated	the	caseof	misinformation	in	the	nation.	Albeit	most	traditional	economic	models	deploy	causality	analysis	to	infer	policy,regular	models	don’t	account	much	for	outliers,	and	most	analysts	deal	with	outliers	based	on	human	experience	orelimination	of	such	events	from	predictive	models.As	the	price	of	misinformation	dissemination	during	a	catastrophe	can	only	be	comprehensively	measured	inretrospect,	it	is	important	to	not	dumb	down	the	metrics	of	success	or	failure	to	the	total	of	positive	Covid-19	cases.It	is	imperative	to	achieve	an	equilibrium	between	national	productivity,	the	economy,	efficiency	of	healthcaresystems,	rural	areas	access,	urban	cities’	vigour,	well-being	of	the	healthy,	and	the	fate	of	the	sick.	We	cannotmanage	what	we	cannot	measure,	and	if	our	only	metric	during	such	exceptional	times	is	one	number	(positivecases);	then	we	are	certainly	doomed	to	be	off-balance	and	fall-off.LSE Business Review: Pandemics and big data tyrannies Page 1 of 2		Date originally posted: 2020-05-11Permalink: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/businessreview/2020/05/11/pandemics-and-big-data-tyrannies/Blog homepage: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/businessreview/Moreover,	the	current	proposed	solutions	to	the	virus,	including	contact	tracing,	easing	of	e-health	recordsrestrictions,	smart-phone	tracking,	and	e-temperature	measurements	would	create	big	amounts	of	data	but	posemany	critical	questions:	Who	owns	the	health	data	generated	by	tracing?	Who	manages	the	data	generated	bytracking?	Are	they	selling	it	to	third	party	vendors?	And	how	are	they	protecting	the	data	infrastructure	fromcomputer	viruses	and	hacker	attacks?	As	global	interconnectedness	continues	to	grow,	more	and	more	people	arefinding	themselves	living	in	a	data	republic.	A	republic	that	ought	to	be	democratised,	but	a	typical	case	of	big	datatyranny	occurs	when	citizens	share	their	data	(willingly)	so	they	can	achieve	safety	and	good	health.	The	wisdom	ofBenjamin	Franklin	states	that:	“Those	who	would	give	up	essential	liberty	to	purchase	a	little	temporary	safety,deserve	neither”.	Once	we	give	up	our	data	liberties,	digital	social	distancing	would	not	be	a	choice	only	duringexceptional	times,	rather,	an	unavoidable	reality	of	electronic	isolation	and	easy	targeting.Data	democracy	allows	personal	data	ownership,	makes	data	available	to	citizens,	and	reduces	costs	to	popularise,disseminate,	and	crowd-source	data.	The	opposite	of	that	(i.e.	a	big	data	tyranny),	is	a	centralisation	of	all	personalhealth	datasets	in	the	hands	of	few	companies	or	entities	that	have	not	been	chosen	by	data	creators.	That	notiondictates	the	transformation	of	the	famous	saying	“data	is	the	new	oil”	(indicating	the	rising	power	of	data	in	theglobal	economy)	to	“data	is	the	new	blood”.Many	studies	compared	the	reactive	human	behaviour	during	the	Spanish	flu	pandemic	to	that	of	World	War	I	andWorld	War	II,	and	to	that	point,	a	story	begs	to	be	told	about	the	city	of	Pittsburgh.	By	the	1930s,	Pittsburgh	wasproducing	half	of	the	nation’s	demand	of	steel.	Steel	proved	invaluable	during	World	War	II.	Interestingly,	the	day	ofthe	Japanese	attack	upon	Pearl	Harbor	in	1941,	Pittsburgh	was	hosting	an	“America	must	stay	neutral	in	this	WorldWar”	event.	Although	the	city	was	reluctant	to	go	to	war,	once	war	was	inevitable,	the	city	mills	operated	24	hours	aday	to	produce	more	than	95	million	tons	of	steel	for	the	war	effort.	This	spike	in	production	created	a	workforceshortage,	which	led	to	a	major	reduction	in	unemployment	rates.	Steel	would	then	be	used	to	build	battleships,aircraft	carriers,	and	ammunition.	Recovering	from	Pearl	Harbor	would	have	been	considerably	delayed	withoutPittsburgh.	That	would’ve	possibly	provided	Japan	and	Germany	another	chance	to	launch	attacks	at	the	U.S.	andpotentially	tilt	the	outcome	of	the	war.During	crisis	times,	healthy	citizens	need	to	be	much	more	productive	than	usual,	and	not	less;	and	all	countriesneed	to	figure	out	ways	to	be	more	functional	during	pandemics.	Otherwise,	all	supply	chains	are	intercepted,	andeveryone	along	the	way	(liberal	or	conservative)	will	be	harmed.	While	expecting	health	and	safety	in	return,	youwill	feel	obliged	to	give	up	your	personal	privacy	in	the	shape	of	a	voluntary	health	data	donation.Contrary	to	that,	by	democratising	big	data	and	providing	the	right	information	to	the	public,	Nietzsche’s	old	adage“he	who	has	a	why	can	live	to	bear	almost	any	how”	can	be	deployed	to	call	for	action	and	march	forward	againstany	visible	or	invisible	enemy.♣♣♣Notes:This	blog	post	expresses	the	views	of	its	author(s),	not	the	position	of	the	CBI,	LSE	Business	Review	or	theLondon	School	of	Economics.Featured	image	by	geralt,	under	a	Pixabay	licenceWhen	you	leave	a	comment,	you’re	agreeing	to	our	Comment	PolicyFeras	A.	Batarseh	is	a	research	assistant	professor	with	the	College	of	Science	at	George	MasonUniversity	(GMU).	His	research	spans	the	areas	of	data	science,	artificial	intelligence,	and	context-aware	software	systems.	Dr.	Batarseh	obtained	his	Ph.D.	and	M.Sc.	in	computer	engineering	fromthe	University	of	Central	Florida	(UCF)	(2007,	2011),	and	a	graduate	certificate	in	project	leadershipfrom	Cornell	University	(2016).	He	is	the	director	of	Turing	Research,	an	AI	for	policy	group	at	GMU.Additionally,	Dr.	Batarseh	published	and	edited	several	book	chapters.		LSE Business Review: Pandemics and big data tyrannies Page 2 of 2		Date originally posted: 2020-05-11Permalink: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/businessreview/2020/05/11/pandemics-and-big-data-tyrannies/Blog homepage: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/businessreview/

http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/104961/1/Batarseh_pandemics_and_big_data_published.pdf

Pandemics and big data tyrannies

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

LSE Research Online

LSE Research Online