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Computer Data and the Business of Mind-Reading

时间:2017-02-23 23:39:11

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(单词翻译)

 

Big data is having an increasing effect on the way we live.

Big data can be defined as information that is too big or complex to be contained or processed by any one machine or person. It can include which comments, photographs or stories you “like” on Facebook’s website.

It also includes seemingly harmless personal information that political campaigns use to reach voters.

The presidential election campaign of Donald Trump1 used big data to reach American voters who normally would not share their opinions with others. It also helped organizers of the campaign to end Britain’s membership in the European Union, known as Brexit.

Finding out more about people

John Kreisa works in London for Hortonworks, a computer software company that started in California. He says there are lots of ways to measure a person’s feelings.

“One probably very obvious one is things like Twitter,” he says. “Social media, in general, is a way that people express themselves and express a like or dislike...”

By themselves, the trillions of bits of information would just be a collection of countless2 facts, many of which are considered worthless. But add the power of the human mind and it is a different story.

As a student at the University of Sussex, Julian Dailly had two majors -- English and philosophy. When he completed his studies, Dailly wondered how he would ever earn a living in a world filled with machines and technology. Now, he is part of an industry that includes Google and Facebook. It is so large no one seems able to estimate its worth.

Predicting what people will do

Dailly’s research company, Morar Consulting, started three years ago with five employees. The company’s earnings3 have increased by 25 percent each year. It now employs 90 people.

“What we ultimately do here is we try to discover what’s meaningful for people and we correlate that to their economic behavior,” Dailly said.

He noted4 the importance of working with people with different skills.

“We have people from traditional research backgrounds, in addition to some in social sciences, economics, people from tech backgrounds, and sales people,” Dailly said.

Companies like Dailly’s employ recent college graduates. The industry profits from the ideas of these young men and women.

New forms of data also make it possible for some observers to predict the future. They are more valuable to companies and campaigns than the traditional forms of recordkeeping, recording5, or reporting data.

“We have access to the core information inside people’s heads,” Dailly said. “They tell you what people are going to do as opposed to what they’ve done. That helps people take preemptive action. This makes it much more useful for strategy.”

Brexit, Trump and Clinton used this new data

The presidential election campaigns of Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump both used big data last year.

Trump’s aides employed a London-based company called Cambridge Analytica. It used a method known as “psychographs.” This method uses information about a person’s behavior to influence their decisions. Cambridge Analytica also provided its services to the Brexit campaign.

Both the Trump and the Brexit campaigns were accused of xenophobia, an issue many people did not to discuss. Xenophobia is defined as the fear or hatred6 of foreigners.

For both Trump and Brexit, opinion polls had predicted election-day losses. But their victories depended on voters who had remained quiet during the campaign. Those voters may have refused to publicly state their opinions out of concern of being labeled racist7.

Big Data beat the polls

Opinion surveys did not tell the truth, but big data did.

Big data lets you document certain behavior and what people like, says Tamara Chehayeb. She works at Scott Logic8, a British company that advises software developers.

“Let’s say...if you publish certain articles, follow certain people,” she noted. “That could give them (campaign aides) an indicator9 about your views and based on that they could get a better indication about how likely you are to vote for someone or something.”

The possibility of having businesses read minds is frightening for some. And there has been pushback. Facebook, for example, has blocked the use of much of its informational content to non-users. The European Union has enacted10 some of the world’s strongest privacy protections.

Many uses for Big Data

Supporters of the industry are ready to show that big data is a force for good.

Laurie Miles is director of analytics at SAS UK. The company assists the financial services company HSBC Bank. He says the ability to capture and process data in real time is important for protecting credit card users.

Julian Dailly dismisses concerns that computers have finally taken control of our daily lives.

“There is a moment of suspension of disbelief when we allow ourselves to believe that humans will be allowed to be replaced by machines. I think it’s a fantasy.”

“But fundamentally, they (computers) will always be plugged into the wall. They can be turned off. With that in mind, humans will still remain in control.”

Words in This Story

bit – n. a piece of information

correlate – v. to establish a relationship between two or more things

indicator – n. a measure or sign

view – n. opinion


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点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 trump LU1zK     
n.王牌,法宝;v.打出王牌,吹喇叭
参考例句:
  • He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
  • The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手,作为他的王牌。
2 countless 7vqz9L     
adj.无数的,多得不计其数的
参考例句:
  • In the war countless innocent people lost their lives.在这场战争中无数无辜的人丧失了性命。
  • I've told you countless times.我已经告诉你无数遍了。
3 earnings rrWxJ     
n.工资收人;利润,利益,所得
参考例句:
  • That old man lives on the earnings of his daughter.那个老人靠他女儿的收入维持生活。
  • Last year there was a 20% decrease in his earnings.去年他的收入减少了20%。
4 noted 5n4zXc     
adj.著名的,知名的
参考例句:
  • The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
  • Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。
5 recording UktzJj     
n.录音,记录
参考例句:
  • How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间?
  • I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。
6 hatred T5Gyg     
n.憎恶,憎恨,仇恨
参考例句:
  • He looked at me with hatred in his eyes.他以憎恨的眼光望着我。
  • The old man was seized with burning hatred for the fascists.老人对法西斯主义者充满了仇恨。
7 racist GSRxZ     
n.种族主义者,种族主义分子
参考例句:
  • a series of racist attacks 一连串的种族袭击行为
  • His speech presented racist ideas under the guise of nationalism. 他的讲话以民族主义为幌子宣扬种族主义思想。
8 logic j0HxI     
n.逻辑(学);逻辑性
参考例句:
  • What sort of logic is that?这是什么逻辑?
  • I don't follow the logic of your argument.我不明白你的论点逻辑性何在。
9 indicator i8NxM     
n.指标;指示物,指示者;指示器
参考例句:
  • Gold prices are often seen as an indicator of inflation.黃金价格常常被看作是通货膨胀的指标。
  • His left-hand indicator is flashing.他左手边的转向灯正在闪亮。
10 enacted b0a10ad8fca50ba4217bccb35bc0f2a1     
制定(法律),通过(法案)( enact的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • legislation enacted by parliament 由议会通过的法律
  • Outside in the little lobby another scene was begin enacted. 外面的小休息室里又是另一番景象。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

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