This week in data – June 29

The case against the GDPR

Well here’s a different take on this one. Post-privacy-email deluge, Brookings posts a criticism of the new laws: they aren’t proven out yet, they could have a negligible effect on privacy, and they might end up reducing the quality of the data people use. Time will tell.

THE TAKEAWAY:

“It is worth noting that despite the growing concerns over privacy, in reality, people continue to share more of their data not because they have to but because they want to.”

Australia gets closer to a data standard

At least, in government. You might remember in 2016 a bunch of health data leaked online. The taskforce formed in response has come up with recommendations to stop that from happening, and created new standards to make government data sharing more efficient. Short story? This might be a massive, nation-changing program.

THE TAKEAWAY:

“The draft guidelines go well beyond existing international efforts designed to prevent re-identification. They have the potential to significantly alter the landscape for data sharing in government, because they are the first real attempt to overcome the practical issues surrounding data and normalization and re-identification.”

Go easy on the blockchain, hey?

Blockchain this, blockchain that. It’s taking over everything. Not so fast, according to Kevin Werbach on Medium: the fact that data sharing could improve on the blockchain doesn’t mean that it will. Such improvements aren’t inevitable.

THE TAKEAWAY:

“Whether or not there’s a good business putting banks on blockchains (or something blockchain-like) says little about the prospects for decentralized automated organizations.”

Car makers promise to share data…but will they?

Promising news: car makers have said they will share information between them. Not-so-good news: they…might not. As Supply Chain Dive reports, there’s a lot of money to be made here to help suppliers. But the wording isn’t concrete. Fingers crossed.

THE TAKEAWAY:

“While there’s a tremendous opportunity to collaborate, it is unclear from the press release whether OEMs will be incentivized to share as much data as necessary to bring about real change in auto supply chains.”

Artificial intelligence, meet life insurance

Uh…an odd couple if we ever saw one. But Inside Big Data points out something more companies should heed: the life insurance industry doesn’t need to be disrupted. Instead, AI tools could provide more relevant information in a better way.

THE TAKEAWAY:

The life insurance industry has certainly experienced some difficulties the past several years, yet the concepts and methodologies that have long fueled the industry are still valid, they just need an upgrade.

That’s our wrap for this week. Thanks for reading – we hope you found it entertaining and informational. We’d love to hear your thoughts on these articles and anything else data related! Email us anytime at enquiries@datarepublic.com!

Until next week,

Team Data Republic

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