Abstract No. 12 - WITH NOISE - Why a data-driven society needs more common sense. Hrsg.: W.I.R.E.. dem Think Tank der Bank Sarasin & Cie AG

Contributions by: Peter Firth, Philipp Theisohn, Thomas Gauthier, Stephan Sigrist
Conversations with: Dirk Helbing, Adam Greenfield, Roger de Weck, Spencer Chainey, Oliver Reichenstein
Published by W.I.R.E., Think Tank for Business, Society and Life Sciences
In cooperation with Bank J. Safra Sarasin Ltd and the Collegium Helveticum of the Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) and the University of Zurich
Translation G-E: Dr. Vincent Docherty
Data is seen by many as the gold of the 21st century. And because we are generating more and more of this, there is a growing sense of euphoria. We believe that algorithms can relieve us of the burden of taking many serious decisions on our own, help us achieve a better understanding of our environment, or even predict the future. Software companies dream of the advent of intelligent cities that know their citizens desires, while researchers are working on a world simulator designed to prevent economic crises and even wars. Big Data is the buzzword that is synonymous with the hope that more data will mean more knowledge, transparency and economic prosperity. However, any time expectations are raised in this way, this must be balanced by a critical analysis of the consequences. There are already various indications that the increased volume of data will not lead to more transparency but will be lost in the white noise of the data masses.
ABSTRAKT No 12 goes in search of answers to the question of what the data society will mean for us. The results show why there is something to be said for the continuing lack of transparency and how in the new age we will not only need better algorithms but more common sense than ever before with articles by ETH Professor Dirk Helbing, New York urbanist Adam Greenfield, British criminologist Spencer Chainey, information architect Oliver Reichenstein as well as Roger de Weck, Director General of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation, and others.

About the author

Michèle Wannaz, geb. 1976, studierte in Zürich Publizistik, Film- und Literaturwissenschaft. Nach dem Studium war sie zunächst Filmredakteurin beim Nachrichtenmagazin Facts. Inzwischen arbeitet sie als freie Film- und Literaturkritikerin (u.a. für Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Tages-Anzeiger, Die Wochenzeitung), Drehbuchlektorin und Script Consultant. Daneben veröffentlicht sie filmwissenschaftliche Aufsätze und ist regelmässiges Mitglied der Fachkommissionen Spiel- und Dokumentarfilm beim Bundesamt für Kultur, der staatlichen Filmförderung in der Schweiz.

Hannes Grassegger, geboren 1980, vor dem Computerscreen aufgewachsen, ist Reporter und Ökonom. Seine Texte, häufig zum Leben im Digitalen Kapitalismus, erscheinen unter anderem in der NZZ, dem ZEIT-Magazin, bei REPORTAGEN und dem Magazin der Süddeutschen Zeitung. Während seines Studiums in Berlin und Zürich arbeitete er in der Finanzindustrie und besetzte gleichzeitig Häuser. Er lebt in Zürich.

Gerd Folkers is professor of pharmaceutical chemistry at the ETH Zürich since 1991. He studied pharmacy at the University of Bonn and earned his Ph.D. on structure-activity relationships of desapurines. He then moved to the University of Tübingen, where he completed his habilitation in pharmaceutical chemistry. During a stay with H.-D. Hoeltje in Bern, he studied new research methods in computer-aided molecular design and expanded this knowledge during other stays with T. Blundell at the Birkbeck College and E. Meyer at Texas A&M University.The focus of his research is the molecular interaction between drugs and their binding sites. Besides his work on the molecular mechanism of "conventional" nucleoside therapeutics against virus infections and cancer, his special interest has shifted to immuno-therapeutics.

Summary

Contributions by: Peter Firth, Philipp Theisohn, Thomas Gauthier, Stephan Sigrist
Conversations with: Dirk Helbing, Adam Greenfield, Roger de Weck, Spencer Chainey, Oliver Reichenstein
Published by W.I.R.E., Think Tank for Business, Society and Life Sciences
In cooperation with Bank J. Safra Sarasin Ltd and the Collegium Helveticum of the Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) and the University of Zurich
Translation G-E: Dr. Vincent Docherty

Data is seen by many as the gold of the 21st century. And because we are generating more and more of this, there is a growing sense of euphoria. We believe that algorithms can relieve us of the burden of taking many serious decisions on our own, help us achieve a better understanding of our environment, or even predict the future. Software companies dream of the advent of intelligent cities that know their citizens’ desires, while researchers are working on a world simulator designed to prevent economic crises and even wars. “Big Data” is the buzzword that is synonymous with the hope that more data will mean more knowledge, transparency and economic prosperity. However, any time expectations are raised in this way, this must be balanced by a critical analysis of the consequences. There are already various indications that the increased volume of data will not lead to more transparency but will be lost in the white noise of the data masses.

ABSTRAKT No 12 goes in search of answers to the question of what the data society will mean for us. The results show why there is something to be said for the continuing lack of transparency and how in the new age we will not only need better algorithms but more common sense than ever before – with articles by ETH Professor Dirk Helbing, New York urbanist Adam Greenfield, British criminologist Spencer Chainey, information architect Oliver Reichenstein as well as Roger de Weck, Director General of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation, and others.

Product details

• Authors: Gerd Folkers, Hannes Grassegger, Stephan Sigrist, Burkhard Varnholt, Michèle Wannaz
• Assisted by: Kristina Milkovic (Illustration), W.I.R.E. (Editor), W.I.R.E.. dem Think Tank der Bank Sarasin & Cie AG (Editor), W.I.R.E. (Foreword)
• Publisher: NZZ Libro
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 01.02.2014
• EAN: 9783038238713
• ISBN: 978-3-0-3823871-3
• No. of pages: 184
• Dimensions: 156 mm x 230 mm x 15 mm
• Weight: 352 g
• Illustrations: Ill.
• Series: Abstract; ABSTRACT - pocket laboratory for the future; ABSTRACT - pocket laboratory for the future
• Subjects: Non-fiction book > Politics, society, business; Internet, Innovation, Zukunft