大資料的陰暗面

譯文作者：洪飛飛;責任編輯：宋星

大家好，我是洪飛飛，大資料觀察(Big Data In World)的特約編輯。 這篇文章是一篇美國較新的介紹大資料應用的文章，由我翻譯給大家。 為了保留原來的味道，我沒有去掉原文，請大家相較查看。

The Dark Side Of Big Data

大資料的陰暗面

By Sue Poremba(作者：休. Poremba)

There is a lot of talk about the benefits of big data, but there’s a dark side, too.

目前有非常多關於大資料帶來的益處的討論，但同樣大資料也存在陰暗一面。

「There is a difference between what we want to measure and what we can measure. And we need to be on guard that we don’t confuse the two,」 said Kenneth Cukier, co-author of the book Big Data: A Revoluti on That Will Transform How We Live, Work, and Think, in a Yahoo News article.

《大資料》這本書在一篇雅虎新聞文章中被認為是一場改變我們生活、工作和思維方式的革命。 這本書的合著者之一肯尼斯·屈裡耶指出：我們想要測量的和我們可以測量的之間總是存在著差異，我們必須確保我們沒有將二者搞混。

Any data can be measured, but what enterprises have yet to adequately explain is how that collected data will one day be a nalyzed and potentially used. This is what has consumers and employees concerned.

任何資料都可以被測量，但是目前企業還沒有充分認識到的是將來怎樣將已經搜集到的資料進行分析和潛在應用。 而這才是客戶和員工關心的。

「Analyzing customer data to pattern behaviors is not a new concept, though it has become increasingly popular, driving awa reness and visibility,」 says David Baker, senior manager at Navigate, a management consulting firm. 「With the reduced cost of data storage, user-friendly analytical tools, and an increase in the amount and type of data col lection points, the use of business intelligence by companies goes far beyond the marketing department. Organizations are identifying new ways to leverage big data every day–and the increased capability to both broaden and dee pen the analysis leads to evaluating very private aspects of our behaviors in ways that we never imagined.」

一家名為駕駛的企業諮詢管理公司的高管大衛.貝克指出：通過分析客戶資料來類比客戶行為並不是一個新的概念，然而卻變得越來越受歡迎，被廣泛認知。 隨著資料存儲和好用的分析工具成本的降低，以及越來越多數量和類型的資料搜集點，公司對商業智慧的應用已經遠遠超過市場行銷了。 相關組織正在確定新的方式來支援每天的大資料，並提高能力用我們從未想像過的方式來擴展和深化對我們行為中非常私人的因素的分析

Data is already being used to predict future or likely behavior as it relates to areas such as customer habits, election t rends and insurance risk, says Baker. Companies use data to understand customer profitability, framing service levels to drive retention or minimize financial l oss.

貝克指出：資料也被用來預測未來或者可能的行為，涉及到的領域包括客戶習慣、選舉趨勢和保險風險。 企業也用資料來瞭解客戶的收入水準、框架服務水準從而推動自留額或減少經濟損失。

「As tools mature and increase the capability to capture historical data from social media platforms, profiling could take place without personal interaction,」 adds Baker. 「There are many implications–positive and negative–for how employers, physicians, institutions, government agencies and la w enforcement could use this information.」

貝克還指出：由於資料獲取工具從社交媒體平臺採集歷史資料的能力的提升和成熟，不需要人際互動就可以產生模型。 企業主、醫師、大機構、政府機關和執法人員如何使用這些資訊將會導致許多方面的影響，包括積極的和消極的。

Big data is a boon for media outlets. Netflix, for example, uses big data based on its customers’ habits to predict topics that would result in popular original programming.

大資料是媒體的福音。 比如Netflix公司就用基於客戶習慣的大資料來預測一些讓客戶喜歡的原創的話題。

Big data also plays a major role in the growth of social media, as Alan Mutter points out in the blog, Reflections of a Ne wsosaur.

艾倫·馬特在他的一篇Reflections of a Newsosaur的博客中指出：大資料在社交媒體的發展過程中也扮演著重要的角色。

「The commercial potential for Big Data is the reason Facebook achieved a record high valuation of $104 billion when it beg an selling its shares on the stock market,」 Mutter writes. 「Even though Facebook’s shares tumbled in the aftermath of its clumsily managed IPO, the company continues to gather more personal information about people and their friends than any platform yet devised.」

馬特寫道：大資料的商業潛力也是為什麼Facebook一開始在股市出售其股份就達到了創紀錄的高價值：1040億美金。 儘管Facebook在其上市後未妥善經營管理導致股票暴跌，但是他仍然持續搜集了比現有其他任何平臺更多的關於人們和他們的朋友們的個人資訊。

However, Facebook is a prime example of big data’s dark side. 「Organizations like Facebook and Google realize that data has value so they gather increasing amounts of it,」 says Jack Vo nder Heide, president of Technology Briefing Centers.

然而，Facebook也是大資料弊端的最好的例子。 技術簡報中心的主席傑克. Vonder Heide指出：類似Facebook和谷歌的公司意識到了資料的價值因此搜集了越來越多的資料。

In addition, Vonder Heide adds, users don’t bother to read the terms of use clauses on websites and don’t realize how comp anies are using the data they save. Privacy remains a major concern when it comes to big data.

另外，Vonder Heide補充道：使用者並不會仔細閱讀網站上的使用條款，也沒有意識到網站如何使用他們保存的資料。 當談到大資料時，隱私仍然是一個主要的顧慮。

How big data is used isn’t its only concern. As John Jordan points out in a Wall Street Journal article, companies don’t have the right tools for the influx of big dat a. He states, 「For big data to be useful, programmers and analysts also must understand the basics of the industry they ar e programming for. If the analysts don’t know the business, and the questions to ask, the company risks running down a lot of expensive dead ends.」

大資料如何使用並不是唯一的顧慮。 約翰.喬丹在華爾街日報的一篇文章中指出：大資料的湧入後，企業並沒有搞定它們的合適工具。 程式師和分析師必須要明白他們所做的業務的基本原理，才能使大資料變得有用。 如果分析師不明白業務也不知道從何入手來瞭解(不知道如何提出問題)，那麼企業將會有付出慘痛代價走入死胡同的風險。

Corporate leaders are well aware that the explosion of data is not going to subside; rather, it is going to relentlessly continue.

企業領導者很清楚資料的爆發式增長並不會消退，反而會一直持續下去。

「As the big data phenomenon moves into its adolescent phase, as a society we will have to find the balance between the ben efits of capturing and analyzing personal data and maintaining personal data privacy,」 explains Jim Vogt, CEO of Zettaset, a management platform. 「For example, is the trade-off of losing some data privacy acceptable if it helps law enforcement agencies thwart terroris m or other crimes, or are we simply heading down a dark path?」

一家名為 Zettaset的管理平臺的CEO吉姆. 沃格特指出：隨著大資料逐步發展成長，作為社團我們必須在獲得、分析個人資料和保持個人資料隱私安全之前找到平衡。 比如，我們是否可以接受這樣的妥協，丟棄一些隱私資料來説明執法者阻止恐怖主義或其他犯罪，還是簡單地一條道走到黑?

C-level execs need to be proactive in building trust with their employees and customers, adds Baker. They also need to make sure that the capture and use of big data is well-managed, with minimized exposure and risk. 「Establishing a formal process to guide the administration and use of big data is important to secure access, restrict vis ibility to sensitive information, and enable the business to get in front of potential issues proactively.」

貝克補充道：C級高管(指CEO，CFO等)需要積極主動地和員工和客戶建立信任。 同時也要確保大資料的獲得和使用過程中得到了有效的管理，保證最小的暴露和風險。 建立正式的流程來規範大資料的管理和使用對資料安全存取，敏感資訊能見度，以及企業提前發現潛在的問題也是非常重要的。

This is not the first time a new wave of technology has delivered benefits while at the same time introducing a new set of challenges to IT leaders in businesses and government, Vogt points out. For example, the introduction of wireless enterprise networks, cellular data and BYOD during the past decade have created similar challenges involving privacy and security for both individuals and organizations. The industry has adapted and gradually developed a best-practices approach. The privacy and security challenges that big data presents can be met by developing a clear understanding of the liabiliti es, as well as the benefits, and by developing best practices that will help organizations achieve balance between the two .

沃格特指出：新一輪的技術給企業和政府的IT領導者帶來效益的同時帶來一系列新的挑戰，這已經不是第一次了。 比如，過去的十年中，無線企業網、蜂窩資料和自帶設備辦公也給個人和機構在隱私和安全方面帶來了類似的挑戰。 業界已經改變並逐步發展形成了最佳使用的方式。 目前如果要解決大資料存在的隱私和安全挑戰，必須跟大資料帶來的益處一樣，建立明確的責任協定和發展最佳使用方式來説明機構達到兩者的平衡。