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Fourth Industrial Revolution and Protection of Personal Information

 “We seem to increasingly trade privacy for convenience with many of the devices we routinely use”

-          Michael Sandel (Harvard Professor)

Have you given a thought on the information that is freely available about you without your knowledge?

Have you ever experienced?

 When you are searching for a holiday accommodation on any website, and you leave the booking incomplete…have you noticed the same hotel advertisement catching your eye as you browse through social sites be it Facebook, Instagram or any other online site?

When you buy any specific items from any online site…have you noticed related  products being advertised to you? e.g. buying maternity clothes from website, you suddenly start noticing advertisements about other  maternity products, children clothes, toys?

It all happens because of your information and preferences been tracked and monitored through a small cookie (its not the one we get in our kitchens).

COVID 19 crisis and lock down has given human health a new focus. Everyone is either worried for their own health and their closed ones. Most of us wear latest smartwatches (Apple, Garmin, Tomtom, Fit bit etc.) These devices do a fantastic job of monitoring our health parameters like distance walked, calories burnt, weight, height, heart rate, BMI to name a few. This information is not only on these devices, but we make it available to the insurance providers for a discount on premium. The healthier you are the more discount you get. So, what is the glitch then?

Have you given a thought that you are trading your and your family’s personal information for a mere discount?

Today you feel its optional to share the information, but have you imagined that you are creating a web of invisible surveillance on your choices, preferences, and personal information? And the cherry on the top is when that data gets hacked by cyber-attacks - who is the one that suffers? Whose information is being compromised?  With the Fourth Industrial Revolution “Data has become the most expensive commodity” Have you ever read the cookie disclaimers on websites before you accept or decline them? have you noticed the Privacy policies on all sites and apps? Have you ever read them to understand how that site is going to process your personal information and with whom is it going to be shared? Is your personal information really going to remain personal?

Food for thought

“ Are we enjoying freedom and advent of  technology under the fourth industrial revolution or being caught in  the shackles of invisible unknown that we have not seen?”

Comments

  1. HisabkitabNovember 2, 2023 at 10:25 AM

    Thanks for sharing this information. Outsourcing accounting and bookkeeping services in Mumbai can be a cost-effective solution for businesses. It allows them to focus on their core activities while leaving the financial management to experts who can often provide services at a fraction of the cost of maintaining an in-house team.

    ReplyDelete

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