Abstract
‘Big Data’ is a term that has been coined to describe the very large datasets that may be accrued through the use of modern computers. The collection and analysis of big data, and its presentation to others, raise a number of important questions, notably ethical questions, which impinge on the lives of citizens. The Churches, not least through their engagement with scholarship in the area of science and religion, are uniquely placed both to raise these questions, and to engage with data scientists in addressing them.
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Notes
- 1.
‘A Bishops’ Letter About The Climate’, Church of Sweden Bishops’ Conference, Uppsala 2014: www.svenskakyrkan.se/biskopsmotet (accessed 15 February 2015).
- 2.
‘Who Is My Neighbour? A Letter from the House of Bishops to the People and Parishes of the Church of England for the General Election 2015’, www.churchofengland.org/GeneralElection2015 (accessed 15 February 2015).
- 3.
An exabyte is 1018 bytes.
- 4.
A terabyte is 1012 bytes.
- 5.
The summary and recommendations of the Alder Hey enquiry may be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/250914/0012_i.pdf (accessed 19 February 2015).
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Fuller, M. (2016). Some Practical and Ethical Challenges Posed by Big Data. In: Baldwin, J. (eds) Embracing the Ivory Tower and Stained Glass Windows. Issues in Science and Religion: Publications of the European Society for the Study of Science and Theology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-23944-6_10
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