Chapter 15: The Ethical Dimension of Big Data

Big data is being hailed as the next big innovation across most areas of life, including business. Big data is expected to affect many aspects of business, from designing products to managing supply chains; moreover, many of the uses to which it will be put involve the relationship between a business, or institution, and people, particularly customers.

One of the best-known examples of big data is the story of Target’s ability to zero in on pregnant women among its customers. This has been regarded as a triumph of technical marketing, but it also brought criticism from Forbes columnist Kashmir Hill (2012) that their approach “creeps people out.” Other examples abound. Making choices in how to use big data will be particularly tricky for business because it conflates privacy and intellectual property in new ways that have not been addressed by either law or previous practice.