信息时代 数据即我

Leaders
社论
Identity
身份
Les stats, C'est moi
统计数据，就是我
A new way to think about data is needed
需要用新方法看待数据


“Data”, runs a common refrain, “is the new oil.” Like the sticky black stuff that comes out of the ground, all those 1s and 0s are of little use until they are processed into something more valuable. That something is you.
有一句经常描述数据的语句：“数据是新石油。”就像从地里钻出来的黏糊糊的黑色石油一样，所有这些由1和0组成的数据都能被加工为更有价值的东西。而这种东西就是你。
Seven of the world’s ten most valuable companies by market capitalisation are technology firms. Excluding Apple, which makes money by selling pricey gadgets, and Microsoft, which charges businesses for its software and services, all are built on a foundation of tying data to human beings. Google and Facebook want to find out as much as it is possible to know about their users’ interests, activities, friends and family. Amazon has a detailed history of consumer behaviour. Tencent and Alibaba are the digital wallets for hundreds of millions of Chinese; both know enough about consumers to provide widely used credit scores.
全球市值最高的10家公司中，有7家是科技公司。除了通过销售昂贵电子产品赚钱的苹果公司，以及向企业收取软件和服务费用的微软公司，其他公司都是建立在将数据和人类联系在一起的基础上。谷歌和脸书希望尽可能了解用户的兴趣、活动、朋友和家庭。亚马逊则有消费者行为的详细历史记录。腾讯和阿里巴巴是数亿中国人的数字钱包；这两家公司都充分了解消费者，还提供广泛使用的信用评分。
Where tech companies have blazed a trail, others have followed. Consumer brands in every industry collect data on their customers to improve design and advertise products and services. Governments have looked at these firms and instituted their own systems to gather information on their citizens. Narendra Modi, India’s prime minister, cites Facebook as an inspiration. That is apparent in the ever-expanding reach of Aadhaar, an id system for India’s 1.3bn residents that is required for nearly every government service imaginable.
科技公司开辟道路时，其他公司也在跟进。每个行业的消费品牌都在收集客户的数据，用来改进产品和服务的设计和广告。政府已经关注了这些公司，并建立了自己的系统来收集公民的信息。印度总理纳伦德拉•莫迪将脸书作为灵感来源。这点在Aadhaar数据系统不断扩大的范围中显而易见，Aadhaar数据系统是印度13亿居民的身份证系统，几乎所有可以想象得到的政府服务都需要它。
That data are valuable is increasingly well-understood by individuals, too, not least because personal information is so often hacked, leaked or stolen. India’s database has been shown to be vulnerable to scammers and state abuse. Facebook has spent most of 2018 dealing with the reputational damage of multiple breaches, most notably via Cambridge Analytica, a consulting firm. The list of other companies that have suffered some sort of data breach in 2018 alone reads like a roll call of household names: Google, Marriott, Delta, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Best Buy, Sears, Saks 5th Avenue, even Panera Bread. Such events have caused a tectonic shift in the public understanding of data collection. People have started to take notice of all the data they are giving away.
个人也越来越清楚地认识到数据的价值，尤其是因为个人信息经常遭到黑客入侵、泄露或窃取。印度的数据库已被证明易受骗子和政府滥用职权的攻击。2018年的大部分时间里，脸书都在处理多重入侵造成的名誉损害，其中最引人注目的是通过咨询公司剑桥分析公司处理这些事情。2018年其他遭受某种数据泄露的公司名单读起来就像一份明星公司名单：谷歌、万豪、达美航空、英国航空公司、国泰航空公司、百思买公司、西尔斯百货、萨克斯第五大道百货公司，甚至帕尼罗面包店。这些事件已经导致公众对数据收集的理解发生了结构性转变。人们已经开始注意到他们提供的所有数据。

Yet few have changed their online behaviour, boycotted snooping tech firms or exercised what few digital rights they possess. Partly this is because managing your own data is time consuming and complex, even for those who understand how to do it. But it is also because of a misunderstanding of what is at stake. “Data” is an abstract concept, technical and intangible. Far more solid is the idea of identity. It is only when “data” is understood to mean “people” that individuals will demand accountability from those who seek to know them.

但很少有人改变自己的网上行为，很少有人抵制窥探技术公司，或者行使他们所拥有的为数不多的数字权利。部分原因是，管理自己的数据既费时又复杂，即使对那些知道如何管理数据的人来说也是如此。但还因为得失难料。“数据”是一个抽象的概念，具有技术性和无形性。更可靠的是身份的概念。只有“数据”被理解为“人”的代表时，个人才会让向试图向了解他们的人问责。
Such accountability stretches far beyond an obligation to secure someone’s credit-card details. In the information age, data are used to decide what sort of access people have to services. Uber ratings determine who gets a taxi; Airbnb reviews decide what sort of property you can stay in; dating-app algorithms choose your potential life partners. Firms use location data and payment history to sell you products. Your online searches may establish the price you pay for things. Those with a good Zhima credit score, administered by an Alibaba subsidiary, enjoy discounts and waived deposits. Those without receive few offers.
这种责任远远超出了确保某人信用卡详细信息安全的义务。在信息时代，数据决定人们对服务的访问方式。优步上的排名决定谁能打到车；爱彼迎的评论决定你可以住什么样的房子；约会应用程序算法选择你潜在的生活伴侣。公司利用位置数据和支付历史向你推销产品。你在网上的搜索可能会决定购买商品的价格。由阿里巴巴子公司管理的“芝麻”信用评分良好的客户可以享受折扣和免押金服务。“芝麻”信用评分不好的客户则享受不到这样的服务。
When they are used by states, such techniques pose a still greater threat. Algorithms that are able to recognise patterns in data can pinpoint dissidents or even those with unconventional opinions. In 2012 Facebook experimented with using data to manipulate emotions. In 2016 Russia used data to influence the American presidential election. The question is not whether someone is doing something wrong. It is whether others can do wrong to them.
而这些技术用于国家层面的话，就会构成更大的威胁。能够识别数据模式的算法也能找出持不同政见者，甚至是那些持非传统观点的人。2012年，脸书尝试使用数据来操纵用户的情绪。2016年，俄罗斯利用数据影响美国总统大选。问题不在于某人是否做错了什么。关键是别人是否能对他们做错事。
The fossils of past actions fuel future economic and social outcomes. Privacy rules, data-protection regulation and new laws surrounding the use of algorithms are crucial in protecting the rights of individuals. But the first step towards ensuring the fairness of the new information age is to understand that it is not data that are valuable. It is you.
过去行动如化石燃料般点燃未来的经济社会结果。隐私规则、数据保护条例和围绕算法使用的新法律对保护个人权利至关重要。但确保新信息时代公平的第一步，是要明白，有价值的不是数据。而是你这个人。

来源：经济学人

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