“developing nations can have the capability to become producers of AI and Big Data Technology solutions. And if they produce their own solutions, dependence to foreign solutions can be diminished.”
KORAY ERIMEZ
We often think of data ownership in terms of a personal or even a business level. However, we rarely think of the impact of data ownership on a national scale.
Definition of Data Ownership:
Data ownership is having legal rights and control over a piece or set of data elements. The entity with these legal rights can implement the use and distribution policy of these data elements.
What are the examples of data? Facts or figures that can be processed and analyzed such as:
- General information (name, contact info, occupation, hobbies etc.)
- Statistics (GNP, GDP, average income etc.)
- Audio and video files
How personal data leads to national data
Think about each time you installed new software and saw a pop-up requesting access to your data, how many times did you select “allow” without reading the full terms and conditions?
Allowing a third party to access and use your data means voluntarily extending your ownership to more and more outside entities.
Why do we extend these rights? Because through the flow of information, companies get the insights they need to improve the way they engage with us, their customer. Who doesn’t want a better product or service?
However, when you combine individual user data, you end up having data sets of multiple consumer data. If an entity can collect these data sets and can process them, that entity can find insightful trends for a particular region.
Gather enough data and it is possible to find real-time trends on a national scale.
For instance, Facebook collects all the general info of all its subscribers. They have records of where people live, their occupation, favorite music, favorite films, books, hobbies, etc.
Based on that data, they can give companies the ability to target their ideal customers (e.g. those who are more likely to be interested in their product or service) and display their ads only to those audiences.
The result is that you only see products and services in your feed that you are interested in, which means advertisements feel less intrusive.
For the company, they get to display their ad to people who are most likely to buy their product or service. It is a win-win for both parties.
Benefits and trade offs with the free flow of information: Dominance of Foreign Ownership
While a lot of benefits come from the free flow of information, the reality is that companies that can collect big data and process big data gain a huge competitive advantage.
The other reality is that most companies that can accumulate and process big data are tech giants from more developed countries.
Just take a look at your phone and do a quick count of the apps you use the most. Where were these developed? Who owns the data collected on those apps?
Many companies in emerging economies, notably startups and SMEs, can’t keep up with tech demands (too expensive, too long to produce, etc.) and are forced to use the solutions provided by foreign industry leaders to remain competitive.
As a result, foreign entities are able to collect, track and analyze consumer data of their clients from across the globe. This information is a gold mine when it comes to identifying problems and new opportunities in the market.
Industry giants can create innovations, are created which only furthers their dominance influence of the giants in the industry. How then can smaller companies catch up? More importantly, how can emerging markets catch up when all innovations are created in developed countries?
Importance of National Data Ownership
We’ve mentioned that data is the new oil, and whoever owns and processes data will shape the future.
If developing countries want to maintain ownership and control over their nation’s data, they will need the infrastructure within their country to allow them to collect and process big data, which is something they lack.
Right now, developing countries depend on foreign companies to process big data. There aren’t enough local experts and businesses to fulfill this need.
This is why it is important to create a business environment where local tech startups can succeed. Equally important is providing more opportunities for local talent to become qualified experts in the tech space.
In doing so, developing nations can have the capability to become producers of AI and Big Data Technology solutions. And if they produce their solutions, dependence on foreign solutions can be diminished.
Hence, emerging markets can become more independent in being able to maintain control over their nation’s data. This, in turn, will improve their competitiveness in the global economy.
Can this be done?
Leadeana is dedicated to its mission of providing the most affordable solutions in AI, AR, machine learning and robotics to developing countries in Southeast Asia. The goal is to give local companies better accessibility to technologies they need to collect, process and analyze big data.
If more local businesses can process big data, then key data can be kept within that country, which in turn protects national data ownership.