Pros and cons of data mining

NPR : “From an algorithms perspective, this is a great time to be alive,” says Sean Gourley, cofounder and CTO of Quid , a software company that writes computer programs to sift through the mountains of data available online. With information gleaned from online articles, blog postings, and commercial transactions, companies can pinpoint consumer tastes and interests, banks can map developing markets for new technologies, and politicians can target their messages. Unfortunately, such data could be mined for less benign purposes and instead used to sway or otherwise control consumer decisions. As Gourley points out to NPR, “What would happen if Google Maps knew that you were looking for a new car? Maybe when you looked up directions to a party, it would suggest a route that passes right past a dealership.”