"Data Colonial" affects future economic and social trends
August 28, 2019 09:28 Source: "China Social Sciences", August 28, 2019, Issue 1766 Author: This newspaper reporter Wang Youran

The popularity of "Data Big Bang" and dataization is triggering economic and social changes。Professor of the Department of Media and Communication of the London School of Political Economics, Nick Couldry, and Ulises A. Mejias, an associate professor of the Department of Media Research from the State University of New York State University, ) In the new book "The cost of connection: how data colonizes human life and make it use it for capitalism",reveals how the data controls human life。They proposed,Various applications and digital platforms capture people's life information and transform them into data,These data are used for "feeding" capitalist enterprises,Then sell it back to the consumer。This situation indicates that a new social order that will rise globally will rise globally。"Colonial" seems to be a concept of history,But it was reflected in this era when this dataization is everywhere。

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 "China Social Sciences": How is "data colonial" defined? Who is the colonizer of "Data Colonial",Who is the colonial person?

Kurdery and Messia:We define "data colonial" as a new resource occupation mode,Of course,Colonialism in the historical sense has not completely disappeared,The consequences are survived in many ways。Today,People’s life information is increasingly extracted into data,This is similar to colonialism in the historical sense,Different is that the center of "data colonial" is no longer limited to Western countries。The colonial classes of "data colonial" around the world are still forming,But what can be determined is,The technology company giants who have mastered the digital platform played a key role。On the one hand,Almost everyone is the colonizer of "data colonial",Because human experience has become the target resource of exploitation; on the other hand,In different countries,"Data Colonial" influence is very different,This depends on the existing social and economic status of the people of the country。

  "China Social Sciences": What are the main forms and key features of "data colonial"?

Kurdery and Messia:美国哈佛大学商学院退休教授肖莎娜·祖波夫(Shoshana Zuboff)在《监视资本主义时代:在权力新边界为人类未来斗争》(The Age of Surveillance Capitalism: The Fight for a Human Future At the New Frontier of Power),Refined the concept of "surveillance capitalism",The prediction of human behavior becomes a transaction object,huge wealth and extreme concentration with knowledge、The huge power characterized by democratic supervision quickly accumulates。Except the above form,"Data Colonial" coverage is more widely covered。First,Enterprise's marketing activities extended to the daily life of consumers through the "Internet of Things" and smart personal assistants。2,Computer monitoring through various forms of uninterrupted computers,The surveillance of people's work and life is increasingly expanded。third,Fields that have never been organized around data before,Now it is increasingly reorganizing data extraction。such as,More and more people rely on algorithms to find marriage objects,Employers use algorithms to screen the candidate's resume,Even agriculture is becoming a "data business"。Fourth,The relationship between the government and the enterprise is changing major changes,The knowledge path that people understand and govern the world are changing。

 Reshape existing economic and social relations

  "China Social Sciences": Where can the source of "data colonial" go back? How does it develop?

Kurdery and Messia:Data extraction and analysis of people's online behavior,The marketing industry is more focused on personalized target selection,The marketing industry is more focused on personalized target selection。More widely,The root cause of "Data Colonial" can be traced back to some basic features of the current technical infrastructure,Especially the ability of computer tracking operation records and connecting each other。Since the mid -1990s,This new connection infrastructure is commercialized,Many different forces gradually gather to a common new idea: the online world is used as a resource worth "mining"。We are not sure how the "data colonial" will evolve in the future,But based on the direction of the current change and its serious thinking,We think that the new economic and social governance methods will cause it。

  "China Social Sciences": What is the similarity and difference between "data colonial" and historically colonialism?

Kurdery and Messia:The key point of the key is that both of them have changed the nature and scale of occupying resources to obtain economic value,and from this derived other similarity。Historically colonialism brought unprecedented wealth to a minority group,"Data Colonial" shows the same signs,and also start to change social relations。other,Both colonial forms are covered with positive narratives to cover up the truth of exploitation。History of colonialism with "civilization" as the banner,"Data Colonial" promotes "connection" and "personalized",and declare that data is the same as natural resources such as oil "there"。

The key difference between the two comes from different historical time points。History of colonialism formed in the global economic development very limited、Capitalism is not yet developed; "data colonial" is a century in capitalism、In the context of key technological progress,,Therefore, the foundation of its occupation of resources is not primitive violence,Instead of reshaping the existing economic and social relations。

  "China Social Sciences": Which groups are particularly fragile in the face of "data colonial"?

Kurdery and Messia:Human experience is used as a target for data extraction,This means in a broad sense,Everyone is the victim of "data colonial",But because "data colonization" is a social order,It will copy existing inequality。such as,Many workers are under the surveillance of employers when working hours,But this more occurs in low -level employees rather than high -level managers; people with high dependence on public services and social security,Obviously it is more difficult to reject the government's requirements for extracting their personal data。

Many new studies display,Dataization will cause new inequality。such as,Algorithm decision -making is usually based on machine learning,If the data used in the algorithm reflects the existing inequality,Decision operation may distort it。Different countries' resistance to "data colonial" is also different,When the company provides low -cost services for the condition of obtaining user data,Low -income countries are more likely to accept conditions without controversy。

 Negative consequences of preventing "data colonial"

  "China Social Sciences": "Data colonial" pose a threat to human society? Are there any positive elements?

Kurdery and Messia:History of colonialism is cruel、Naked violence,"Data Colonial" does not contain this ingredients。Racialism is a key tool in the colonial rule in history,This phenomenon has not yet appeared in "data colonial"。But there are many evidences to indicate,Algorithms may copy or even exacerbate existing unequal forms,Including racial inequality。If "data colonization" becomes a social order,It may also "join forces" with violence and racism。No matter what,"Data Colonial" means a substantial change in the occupation of resources with economic benefits,Its negative consequences are mainly three points。

First,Large -scale collection of data、Storage and use,will cause new economic and social power imbalance。This imbalance will be reflected in the digital platform and the user、between employers and employees、Between service providers and consumers、Between the government and citizens。One of the risks caused is in the decision that can affect people's lives,Data is used in improper way or out of bad purpose,Then the data -based algorithm -based decision -making contains prejudice and twist。2,The unprecedented scale of human behavior has destroyed the basis of human freedom,and "self -space" is the reference point of all privacy concepts,This is the case in East and West culture。third,Because data is not only the source of economic benefits,It is also the source of information and knowledge,"Data Colonial" has changed people's understanding and governance society、The basis of the relationship between the management group and the country。

Of course,Collect and use data under the conditions of the influential and continuous permission,can play a positive role,bet365 best casino games Scientific research is a key area。but but,We hope that everyone is vigilant is not a data collection in the general sense,but a social and economic order that is being established,The foundation is to exploit and control through data。

  "China Social Sciences": What is the role of enterprises and government in "data colonial"? Is "data colonial" inevitable?

Kurdery and Messia:The phenomenon of "data colonial" was originally based on a few companies, especially those participating in digital platforms and information technology infrastructure management as the lead,But now involves almost all forms。

"Data Colonial" is the transformation of the whole society,All institutions are involved in it and have the responsibility to reverse this bad trend。It is precisely because the scope of "data colonial" is extremely wide,Local scheme (such as individuals withdrawing from digital platforms or small policy modifications) are almost impossible to solve any problems,Large -scale measures of collectiveness can bring changes。The form of these measures is still difficult to predict。We hope to inspire everyone to participate in the design and constructing the basic value of human beings、New connection forms that will not cause the heavy consequences of colonialism。

"Data Colonial" is not inevitable,It is just the latest attempt for social order to be forcibly used to serve specific interest groups,But people should no longer remain silent about the exploitation imposed on them。Not just academic circles,Members of all society should carry out multi -angle joint research and exploration,Understanding the world under the influence of "data colonial",and imagine a different new world。This new world should respect diversity,Respect which personal data can be collected、What reason bet365 best casino games is collected。At least for now,We believe that we can find more constructive data collection、Use and manage method。

(Newspaper Washington, August 26th)

Editor in charge: Zhang Yueying
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