Big Data: the fuel of the 21st century

Artificial intelligence surrounds us everywhere and is constantly evolving. Increasingly, you can hear about use cases of AI-based algorithms in everyday life and helping in medicine, transportation, and finance.

AI is becoming one of the top priorities for countries that create economic development programs and is becoming the accelerator of economic and productive growth, thus contributing to the development of industrial productivity in Europe. More and more countries are creating AI development policies that focus primarily on funding research centers working on advanced technology, they are also trying to encourage researchers to work in their country, and to adapt society to the upcoming changes, especially visible in the labor market. Countries that gain the technological advantage will become independent of other countries, and consequently may achieve economic dominance.

More and more attention is beginning to focus on data, which is becoming very important as machine learning, used in the development and operation of AI, makes use of large amounts of data. This allows AI to learn, develop and become more advanced. Internet and cell phone users, provide information about their behavior and data about themselves that can be grouped and used accordingly.

It seems that the most important challenge that countries face is to build a data ecosystem based on trust, availability and infrastructure. In Europe, much time is spent reflecting on the risks associated with the development of AI and trying to set a framework for creating the transparent and ethical AI. In addition, at the same time, there is an attempt to protect personal data and the human right to privacy and security, which is reflected in the adopted Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (hereinafter GDPR). It postulates that the EU should create data spaces, in areas such as manufacturing or energy, open to both the public and business, allowing them to be used to teach AI and thus produce new and better products and services.

Due to the fact that there is more and more data, the term Big Data has come to be used – describing the large amounts of data generated by the increasing use of digital tools and information systems. It is assumed that Big Data is defined by the 5xV characteristic. Under this term are the following words: Volume – huge amount of data; Velocity – high speed of its processing; Variety – considerable variety of data; Veracity – verification of information; Value – value already directly for the user. Every day 2.5 quintillion bytes of data are produced, which shows how much data has to be processed by particular systems.

Nowadays, thanks to Big Data, it is possible to control the constantly emerging new data and, in addition, at the same time get benefits from it. Entrepreneurs, financial institutions, and public sector institutions benefit from this. Entrepreneurs can use data to increase competitiveness, or to improve business operations, and it allows better decision-making, reduces costs, reduces working time, and enables the creation of offers tailored to customer expectations. By using Big Data, it is possible to build models that predict the demand for new products or services. Big Data will also affect changes within the organization. Employees will be able to focus on more creative challenges and AI will be used for repetitive tasks. Thus, it will be able to support employees and not necessarily replace them.

Banks can also benefit from the huge amount of data, having a sufficiently large number of them, they will be able to study customer behavior, such as on what and when customers spend money, what their needs are, what are their projected financial plans. This will allow banks to be more responsive to customer needs and create personalized offers.

The best practice to take advantage of Big Data is to first and foremost align Big Data with specific business goals. Having large enough data volumes allows you to make new discoveries that will allow your business to succeed. It is important to focus on acquiring new skills that will allow you to properly understand and learn from the data. That’s why it’s so important to get training in this area and hire new people to help deal with the challenges that Big Data brings.

However, it is important to remember that AI is not just about the benefits themselves, but also about the serious risks, especially in the absence of solutions and legislation that will control AI-based systems, as well as the ethical aspects associated with their use. We can expect the increase in public concern about AI taking away jobs or making decisions that affect individuals.

Another threat most often mentioned in the context of Big Data is the risk associated with loss of privacy, disclosure of confidential data or data theft. To ensure confidentiality, data processors should first and foremost comply with the provisions of GDPR and perform data anonymization, the process that involves transforming personal data in a way that makes it impossible to attribute individual information to a specific or identifiable natural person.

Also, the results proposed from Big Data analysis cannot be accepted uncritically. This can lead to discrimination, as it is very easy to make a mistake and treat the client unfairly. This is why data verification is so important. People who will use the services of businesses or banks should be able to appeal against decisions made on the basis of such data, and institutions should be able to explain and clarify the basis of their decisions. 

It is undeniable that there are many benefits of using Big Data tools, which is why this field is growing rapidly. It is therefore necessary to systematically introduce and solidly adhere to appropriate regulations that will adequately protect the interests of customers and their online privacy.

Author: Agata Konieczna