An interesting interview with Kate Crawford
Kate Crawford: I’m currently researching how big data practices are affecting different industries, from news to crisis recovery to urban design. This talk was based on that upcoming work, touching on questions of smartphones as sensors, on dealing with disasters (like Hurricane Sandy), and new epistemologies — or ways we understand knowledge — in an era of big data.
When “Six Provocations for Big Data” came out in 2011, we were critiquing the very early stages of big data and social media. In the two years since, the issues we raised are even more prominent.
I’m now looking beyond social media to a range of other areas where big data is raising questions of social justice and privacy. I’m also editing a special issue on critiques of big data, which will be coming out later this year in the International Journal of Communications.
Bonus: Nassim Nicholas Taleb’s take on Big Data.