One of the major terminological forces driving ICT development today is that of ‘big data.’ While the phrase may sound inclusive and integrative, in fact, big data approaches are highly selective, excluding any input that cannot be effectively structured, represented, or, indeed, digitised. The Trouble with Big Data explores the challenges society faces with big data, through the lens of culture rather than social, political or economic trends as demonstrated in the words we use, the values that underpin our interactions and the biases and assumptions that drive us.
Evolving from research undertaken in the Knowledge Complexity (KPLEX) project, in which Trinity College Dublin, the Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) of the Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie von Wetenschappen, and Freie Universität Berlin were partners, this book focuses on areas such as data and language, data and sensemaking, data and power, data and invisibility, and big data aggregation. How cultural practices are displaced by, and yet simultaneously resist mass datafication, can be instructive for the critical observation of big data research and innovation.
This book is available as open access through the Bloomsbury Open programme and is available on www.bloomsburycollections.com. It is funded by Trinity College Dublin, DARIAH-EU and the European Commission.
kplex-project.com 