Response by CW5 Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 19 at 2015 6:16 AM

2015-01-19T06:16:46-05:00

Excellent article, SGM Private RallyPoint Member. It popped up on my screen on Martin Luther King Day, next to a question about MLK's dream.

I like the author's explanation of three ways big data can be used in the fight FOR equality: (1) algorithms can be programmed to ignore factors such as race and age; (2) feedback loops can be used to encourage people to treat others as individuals; and (3) data can be used to identify racist policies.

Thanks for sharing the article.

Response by COL Jason Smallfield, PMP, CFM, CM made Jan 27 at 2015 9:02 AM

2015-01-27T09:02:38-05:00

- Yes, big data can be used in the fight for equality.
- Big data can also be used to discriminate both in good or bad ways. An example of good discrimination is a bad driver with several accidents having to pay higher insurance premiums due to demonstrated increased risk. An example of bad discrimination is one ethnic group paying lower plane ticket prices than another ethnic group. The former is about behavior while the latter is about skin color.
- Like any new technology (plane, tank, atomic energy), big data can be used for good or ill and there will be growing pains when we as a society use it for various purposes. The laws mentioned in the article are a red herring in my opinion. Laws usually lag behind technology as people use technology in ways never envisioned by laws on the books.

Response by Capt Jeff S. made Aug 26 at 2015 5:37 AM

2015-08-26T05:37:59-04:00

I see the potential for abuse far outweighing the potential for benefit, simply due to human nature being what it is. I believe that Big Data is being used to hold stuff over our elected officials' heads and prevent them from doing their jobs. Someone in DC is collecting dirt on just about everyone there and is blackmailing people into doing their bidding. For example, somebody directed NSA to read Gen Petraeus' emails. The Administration knew about his affair for awhile and waited till right before the election to break the story. So few in the GOP seem willing to indict the fraud squatting in the White House for the fraud and treason he has committed, that they can't make good on the oaths they swore to protect and defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign AND DOMESTIC, and get the job done.

Sheriff Joe Arpaio has investigated Obama and he and his team of PROFESSIONAL FORENSIC ANALYSTS have determined that Obama posted computer generated forgeries on the whitehouse(dot)gov website claiming them to be scans of his original documents. Arpaio's team sent evidence of their findings to members of Congress and NOBODY has done anything with it. There are retired Generals calling for Obama's ouster. The oath I swore to protect and defend our Constitution trumps political correctness. When I referenced the Generals' remarks on RP, I was admonished by others and told that my comments were unprofessional on a military website. I don't see that that much any more, as more military people are beginning to wake up to the reality of what's going on in DC.

Our Federal Gov't has been shredding the Constitution and abusing the Constitutional rights of our citizens -- namely the First, Second, Fourth and Tenth Amendments. The Executive Branch has been consolidating power in itself, abusing its Executive Authority, and trampling on the Constitutional separation of powers by legislating from the Executive. Obama himself said all he needs is his pen and phone. The current Administration has its own agenda and it is NOT representing the popular will of the electorate, which generally wants what's best for this nation:

# Obama swapped five high level Taliban operatives for a POS Army deserter. That was not in this nation's best interest. Most Americans were against it. Congress was against it. So Obama thumbed his nose at everybody and neglected to inform Congress of the prisoner swap. He went ahead in violation of the law and did it anyway, knowing full well he was breaking the law. His job requires him to uphold the law. Constitutional scholars indicate that what Obama did constituted an impeachable offense. He has aided and rendered assistance to our enemies in several instances. Some of the Taliban he released have already returned to the battlefield and are actively working to bring our country down.

# Borrowing money and giving it to the Iranians is NOT in our national interest and the public is against it, yet that is exactly what this Administration is going to do and Iran is going to use our money to build their first bomb! We had Iran on the ropes with the sanctions and they were working. Now it's pretty much a done deal and no matter what we do, other countries are going to seek to do business with Iran, and Iran is going to have a nuclear capability that can hit all of Western Europe and soon, America! thanks to Obama's incompetent/treasonous foreign policy.

By any interpretation of the definition of treason, Obama has committed it. In fact, he has committed several more impeachable offenses than what I have described above. He even used his State Department to conduct his own covert foreign policy without so much as informing all of Congress.

Mind you, what Nixon did is far less than most any of the scandals that have occurred on Obama's watch. His Administration has fabricated evidence of his eligibility, destroyed evidence of wrongdoing in numerous scandals, and yet he remains.

Do our elected officials not take their oaths seriously or are they afraid? Afraid they might lose their position of power an influence should some nasty little tidbit of information leak out about their affairs, influence peddling, illegal activities and business practices, drug use, hypocrisy, deviant sexual behavior, etc. Or are they worried that their families might suffer some horrible fate and it will be investigated and declared a tragic accident. For example, it would be a shame if the Congressman and his wife were sleeping and their house exploded due to a gas leak, which burned their bodies beyond recognition and the coroners released autopsies that didn't mention the bullet wounds in each of the family members heads who were executed as they lay sleeping. Am just throwing that out as a scenario that might make someone act in a manner inconsistent with their campaign promises and oath of office.

Big data has been used to scrub the Internet of information about Obama's sordid past, and it is being used to mine information on what the Administration considers its enemies. The IRS targeted groups with the name Tea Party in their charter. Hillary Clinton ran her own server and compromised National Security so that she wouldn't have to answer to the public about what went on during her watch as Secretary of State. And now she alleges her daughter erased the servers after suffering a bout of post partum depression. And we're supposed to believe that.

Frankly, the less the government knows about us, the better off we are. There is such as thing as "Too Much Info." It's a double edged sword.I do not see the good coming from the use of Big Data outweighing the bad that can and has occurred.

Response by Cpl Jeff N. made Aug 26 at 2015 6:10 AM

2015-08-26T06:10:18-04:00

It can be used for both good and bad. Data is data, it normally requires a human to act upon it at some point. I prefer companies and the government knowing less about me than more. Anyone that wants more data about them in others hands is not thinking clearly.

Look at the recent shenanigans at the IRS with the abuse of information/power. Many companies will try to use data to drive up prices and profits not necessarily give consumers better deals.

Response by Maj Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 20 at 2016 7:35 PM

2016-01-20T19:35:22-05:00