Interesting comments by former Senate Majority leader George Mitchell (who I will be at a dinner event with Friday night). Towards the end he states that the current U.S. political polarization is due in large part to redistricting, and the gerrymandering being done with voting districts. I would take it a step further. Analytics and Big Data have really given us the insight and opportunity – more than ever before – to understand population patterns, and identify constituencies. In this case one could argue it has resulted in a “dark side” effect – use and analyze the data to achieve short term success at the risk of tearing apart the fabric of the U.S. democratic system. Huge fodder for academic study.
There is an aspect of Gartner research that is starting to lend itself to looking at these ethical effects, and IT’s role, led by Frank Buytendijk. How you implement analytics, and what you do with it from a broader architectural and strategic perspective will also be on the agenda at our Enterprise Architecture Summit in DC May 11-21 in National Harbor, Maryland. I’ll be there.
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