What is behind Data science?

Data science is one of the most popular topics in the current world, people are talking about Big Data and how companies can use data science to improve their services and productivity. If computers can predict our activities, then the companies can provide services and products for their customers at the most efficient way. However, there are several issues behind such use of Big Data.

Firstly, there is a moral issue that a wide use of big data, especially the data collected from companies’ customers. The parent company of Google, Alphabet, has been criticized for its improper use of its users’ data; and some other Internet companies have also been criticized for exploiting users’ private data. Secondly, data science is not perfect. Data science used in social science can help people understand the correlation between different factors; however, in terms of explaining causality and providing accurate description of relationship, data science is sometimes fuzzy. Thirdly, when so many factors are put into models, it is important to have very large samples. The motivation of getting more accurate models encourages companies to “steal” information from their users. If companies want to make more use of data science, they are more likely to use more of their users’ information.

Overall, data science can make our life easier; however, it is not god, it cannot explain everything in our life perfectly accurately.