Rebuilding a stronger digital society
Data has never been more valuable—or more fraught. In a time of turmoil and uncertainty, how can businesses and people come together to create shared principles for society and a better data-driven future for everyone?
May | 2021Billions of digital footprints
The COVID-19 crisis has cast the data dilemma into stark contrast. Ready access to information about people, populations, and epidemiology can aid containment of pandemics and speed pathways to treatment and vaccination, literally saving lives. At the same time, communicating such data can expose personal information, jeopardize societal freedoms, and potentially arm authoritarians with more power. The high-stakes and perhaps sensational nature of such considerations often casts the debate into an us-versus-them narrative poised between salvation and ruin. Ultimately, the trust between all parties can suffer.
And yet the crisis can be an opportunity for companies to illustrate the value of sharing data, and to do so with the input of users, customers, and governments. The effort was enabled by strong collaboration across multiple stakeholders willing to share data toward greater outcomes, and it is one among many examples that show how better management of personal data can tackle some of the largest challenges facing humanity.
In the article, Rebuilding a stronger digital society we explore how companies can acknowledge their role in the digital future and do their part to create a better data-driven future.