Abstract
This chapter explores the social implications of the patterns introduced earlier in the book. Efficiency in pricing and in the allocation of goods means more of us get what we really want, more of the time. That’s good. However, this efficiency comes with a price. It dramatically reduces what we traditionally call fairness , and this will become worse. We are not all viewed as equal by companies, and they will increasingly be able to treat us differently. They will have the information needed to dramatically reduce fairness. Should we accept this? Should we change our definition of fairness? Or do we need new social policies? In our new online world, every text you send, every search you make, every step you take, they’ll be watching you. But where do we draw the line? Big data aggregators note everything we do, and we can’t be certain that their use of the information helps us. Should we care? Should we protect ourselves from the integration, reuse, and sale of personal information ? This chapter and the next one end the book with some suggestions for privacy regulation and proposes a few simple measures we can take to protect our own privacy and the privacy of our families.
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- 1.
While fake news is not new, the term is being used in a new way. Fake news is fabricated news, disseminated to influence behavior, beliefs, and the outcome of elections . Fake news is not the same as carefully researched journalism that does not support your beliefs, no matter how strongly you disagree with it.
- 2.
I find this a little puzzling. Consumers seem terrified of genetically modified crops, although virtually every agricultural product we eat today, anywhere on Earth, has been genetically modified slowly, by centuries of selective breeding by farmers. Consumers trust anything they see on Google Play or the Apple App Store. My guess is we trust innovation unless we put it in our mouths or feed it to our kids.
- 3.
This really is true. If you agree to Google’s privacy policies on Gmail you give Google rights to the contents of e-mail sent to your Gmail account, without the senders’ consent. Canadians seem to worry about this more than Americans do. See http://techcrunch.com/2012/10/08/google-email-privacy-lawsuit-canada/. The courts in the USA appear much more sympathetic to Google. http://techcrunch.com/2012/10/08/google-email-privacy-lawsuit-canada/.
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Clemons, E.K. (2019). Information Changes Everything: Implications for Society. In: New Patterns of Power and Profit. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-00443-9_12
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-00443-9_12
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Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
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Online ISBN: 978-3-030-00443-9
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