The Nature and Meaning of Data

Summary

The most important component of the massive information systems which now exist is data about YOU. This data is gathered in a variety of ways, some open, some more devious. It is then drawn together and cross-referenced to create a dossier of personal information. From the point of view of this new information industry the ideal system is one that contains a comprehensive dossier about every one of us.

We trace, with detailed examples, how data is collected, processed and moved around; how it is then used as the basis for decisions affecting our lives; and the ways open to us to influence this situation. Ethical issues are raised about the IT processes employed in handling personal data, and we argue that there is a risk of errors creeping in, of ways of data management which can lead to a distortion of the truth, and a tendency to keep the public in the dark about what is happening.

Two particular matters are considered in more detail. One is the situation in which personal data is not considered to be the property of each one of us, but, from the moment it is put on a computer system, becomes the property and marketable commodity of the system owner. The other concerns the fundamental and inescapable move away from reality which occurs when our perceptions, feelings and conceptualizations are converted into the artificial representations which make up computerized data, what we have called “convenience labelling”.