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Are we getting closer to the world of Big Brother described in George Orwell’s novel 1984? 

Whether through phone calls, text messages or our search history on the Internet, we always leave a digital trail behind us. Our movements, habits and preferences are tracked everywhere we go, and the collection of this information – big data – has major implications for all of us. 

Experts on big data met at the University of Toronto’s Munk School of Global Affairs on May 9 and 10 as part of the Munk School’s collaboration with CBC Radio One’s show Ideas. 

Recorded in front of a live audience and moderated by the school’s director, Stephen Toope, those Ideas debates will be be broadcast on June 23 and 30 to a potential audience of 1.2 million people across Canada and the U.S.

Security and privacy were at the heart of the discussion on both nights. Professor Ron Deibert, director of Citizen Lab, remarked that big data is the consequence of a radical shift in the way we interact with each other, and with our governments. 

“We turned our digital lives completely inside out,” said Deibert. “And as our lives have changed, so did state institutions, which have turned inwards and are now looking at us to connect the dots by collecting all the dots.”

National security and privacy are not a zero-sum game said alumna Ann Cavoukian, executive director of the Privacy and Big Data Institute at Ryerson University. “There’s no reason why the government should have routine access to the day-to-day activities we engage in. It has a direct impact on our ability to create, to innovate. A sense of surveillance inhibits our sense of freedom.”

[quote (class="additional class" | author="author name")] “Hacking was originally about stimulating a spirit of curiosity instead of accepting technology at face value” – Ron Deibert [/quote]

Ashkan Soltani, independent researcher and former chief of technology for the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, warned that big data could also reinforce existing biases – not always intentionally but sometimes by virtue of a simple algorithm. For an example of automated discrimination, he that showed Internet users who performed Google searches for African-American names were more likely to see advertisements related to arrests.

The assumption made by data that “correlation is causation” should be challenged, Soltani argued. 

Neil Desai from Magnet Forensics, a software company working with law enforcement and national security agencies, pointed out that the government too must adapt itself to the digital age. “The challenge we are faced with when it comes to the way societies organize themselves also applies to criminal activity. Crime is moving online, and state organizations have to learn how to deal with this new kind of threat.”

From a business standpoint, the idea of tracking consumers is old. Compiling and measuring data has always been an important component of business research and development to promote innovation. And while some of that information can be useful in developing tools and practices that make us more efficient, it could also hurt workers and consumers in the long run, said Anita McGahan, associate dean of research at the Rotman School of Management and Munk School professor. 

No matter how advanced the technology, McGahan said, big data can hardly account for the human factor in our social relationships. “We have to think about ways to make our non-commercial lives more meaningful and use the tools that are available in order to have better lives, not just to consume more stuff.”

John Weigelt, national technology officer for Microsoft Canada said big data poses risks for business. Data breaches, for instance, raise scepticism and lower a consumer’s trust.  “When we blame technology for man-made mistakes, we try to simplify the world around us and as a result we get scared,” said Weigelt.

The panel agreed that while big data can foster creativity, we need to keep a watchful eye to ensure a less Orwellian future. 

“We need more hackers,” Deibert said. “Hacking was originally about stimulating a spirit of curiosity instead of accepting technology at face value. To me, that’s a civic imperative we must encourage.”

Part one of the Big Data discussion will air on CBC Radio One on June 23.