Everybody Lies Using Google Searches
People lie to friends, lovers, doctors, pollsters—and to themselves. But Seth Stephens-Davidowitz reveals the truth behind lies using Google searches.
For example, he shows that in places with low tolerance for gays, people search for pornography related to the word ‘gay’. This data reveals their hidden desires. It also helped him prove that racism is alive and well in America.
What Is Big Data?
Big Data is a term used to describe data sets that are too large for traditional data processing tools to manage. These data sets are often unstructured, and they can be incredibly high in volume. This data can come from a variety of sources, including social media, sensors, and point-of-sale transactions.
For example, in one anecdote, Stephens-Davidovitz describes how he was able to use search data from Google Trends to show that racism is alive and well in America. He used search terms like “nigger” to identify areas where people were most interested in the topic. He then showed how this information could be compared with election results to reveal a clear pattern of racist behavior.
Other examples include how companies like Netflix and Procter & Gamble are using big data to predict customer demand for new products. They analyze data from focus groups, social media, test markets. This data helps them plan more efficiently and develop better products. It also allows them to make more accurate predictions about the success of their products and services.
Big data doesn’t lie.
Big data offers new ways to ask and answer questions about the world. But it also presents new challenges. For example, it can be difficult to tell if the data is lying or biased. And there are many different kinds of data, including unstructured text and audio. This makes it important to understand how to analyze these types of data correctly.
For example, Stephens-Davidowitz uses search data to show that racism is alive and well in America. He shows that people in areas that voted for Trump were also searching for the word “nigger.” This is just one example of how data can be misleading.
It is important to remember that big data doesn’t lie, but it can be manipulated. This is why it’s important to look at the context and bias of the data, as well as the method of collection. For example, some surveys are biased because people tend to lie in order to make themselves appear more desirable. This is known as social desirability bias.
Big data can be used for good.
As companies collect more data on their customers, they can make better decisions about what products to produce, where to advertise and how to market those products. This can lead to increased customer satisfaction, repeat business and a competitive advantage for the company.
In addition to business, big data can be used for good in other sectors such as health care, education and government. For example, using big data analysis to analyze the location and movement of fires can help fire departments respond more quickly and efficiently to fire emergencies.
Many companies are also using big data to create more personalized experiences for their customers. For example, music streaming services like Spotify and Pandora use big data to analyze your music preferences and then tailor their service to match your tastes. In addition, non-profit organizations such as DataKind and Data Without Borders are utilizing big data to support socially minded projects.
Big data doesn’t lie.
Big data can answer questions like how many people voted against Obama because he is black, whether where you went to school influences your career success, and whether men are as self conscious about their sex as women. But even though the data doesn’t lie, the algorithms that analyze it can be biased. This is a big problem because biases can influence the conclusions drawn from the data. Stephens-Davidowitz argues that the way to solve this is through “data humility”: making sure that when you are using your data, you understand that it could be wrong.
This is why he calls for two more Vs in addition to volume and variety: value and veracity. He points out that people lie to their friends, lovers, doctors, pollsters, and themselves—and this is especially true when it comes to survey responses. For example, he shows that when college students were asked to report their GPAs, they lied by about 2.5 percent. This is because of a phenomenon called social desirability bias, where people change their answers to appear more desirable to others.
Big data can be used for bad.
Data collection is now widespread. Every time you search the internet, make a call or enter your credit card details on a website, you are leaving a digital footprint. This allows large industries such as banks and insurance companies to track your activity and behavior in real time.
Seth Stephens-Davidowitz argues that we should be wary of the power of big data. He points out that people lie to friends, lovers, doctors and pollsters, so it is no surprise that big data would be wrong a lot of the time. In addition, he points out that the use of big data can highlight existing biases in research. For example, Google flu trends have been shown to overstate the number of flu cases and Academy awards predictions based on Twitter are often off.
Big data can be used for good.
Big data is being used to do good in many industries, including entertainment (such as Netflix’s personalized recommendations), education (such as schools using data analytics to improve their curriculum) and public services (such as traffic management and fire services).
Companies can use big data to track customer behavior and target them with ads. This can lead to higher customer satisfaction and repeat business.
It also helps businesses identify risks and make informed decisions based on the data they have available. For example, a company may use big data to determine if it needs to take action in response to an outbreak of a disease.
There is a growing demand for professionals who can manage and interpret big data. Organizations are seeking qualified candidates for roles such as data scientist and data analyst. Non-profits like DataKind and other collectives or boot camps are working to create more training opportunities for data professionals.
Big data can be used for bad.
The growth of big data creates new opportunities for companies and governments to collect and analyze information about individuals. However, this data can be abused by bad players with malicious intentions. These negative effects can include discrimination, manipulation, and surveillance.
For example, big data can be used to target people for phishing scams or to spread false information. It can also be used to influence elections or predict behavior, like buying habits. However, these algorithms are only as accurate as the data they are based on. If the data is inaccurate, or the algorithm is biased, then the results will be skewed.
Another issue is that big data can lead to overgeneralizations. For example, Google Flu Trends has been shown to overstate flu outbreaks by a factor of two. Additionally, if the data is only gathered from one source, such as Twitter, it may not be representative of the entire population. This can result in skewed results that can be misleading. This can also be a problem when trying to make medical decisions based on big data.
Big data can be used for good.
Whether it’s helping to catch tax evaders or catching food-borne illnesses, big data is being used for good in many ways. Companies that collect a large amount of data are able to use it to improve customer service.
For example, Spotify and Pandora use big data to track user behavior and provide personalized music recommendations. They also use it to predict user preferences based on their behavior and demographics. This allows them to offer better entertainment experiences and increase customer satisfaction.
Government agencies are also using big data for good. The U S government’s open data initiative helps to make datasets more accessible and easier to analyze. Non-profits such as DataKind (formerly Data Without Borders) pair data scientists with civil society groups to help with issues such as tackling corruption and poverty.