Behind and Beyond Big Data

What's driving big data?: We increasingly live our social, economic, and intellectual lives in the digital realm, enabled by new tools and technologies. These activities generate massive data sets, which in turn refine the tools. How will this co-evolution of technology and data reshape society more broadly?

Creating new value: Big data changes what can be known about the world, transforming science, industries, and culture. It reveals solutions to social problems and allows products and services to be even more targeted. Where will big data create the greatest sources of new value?

Shifting power and influence: As data becomes even more valuable, who will own and control access to it? Will big data create information oligarchs or reduce inequality by giving access to people at the margins? How will brokers of big data influence our purchases, behavior, and beliefs?

Managing the tradeoffs: The promise of big data is accompanied by perils—in terms of privacy, security, reputation, and social and economic disruption. How will we manage these tradeoffs individually and in business, government, and civil society?