S29 Ep1: Jannis Kallinikos - Redefining Data to Reinvent the Market Economy

ISF Podcast

Today’s conversation is a fascinating discussion on the nature of data with Jannis Kallinikos, professor of Information Systems at the London School of Economics. Jannis co-wrote the recently published book Data Rules: Reinventing the Market Economy, in which he and co-author Cristina Alaimo posit that data are a fluid cultural record, rather than a static statistical entity. He and Steve discuss the implications of this understanding of data for the security industry, from how it could change regulatory approaches to how we understand ourselves as humans in relation to data.
Key Takeaways:
1. Kallinikos argues that data are not just statistical entities, but cultural entities that convey aspects of our world and reality.
2. Data are cultural records, not just statistical entities, and are fundamental to economic and social transformation.
2. Durbin and Kallinikos discuss concerns about data-driven perspectives reinforcing narrow worldviews.
3. Data regulation needs to reflect data’s interactive and morphing nature and serves to protect society from greedy companies.
4. Kallinikos warns that politics has become instinct-based, with little time for reflection.
Tune in to hear more about:
1. Data’s role in society, economy, and transformation (0:00)
2. Data’s impact on society, culture, and individual perspectives, with a focus on regulation and balance (7:10)
3. Data as a living entity, challenges for security professionals, and need for education (18:01)
4. Data’s impact on society and politics, with a focus on education and government’s role in protecting data (23:15)
Standout Quotes:
1. “Data are cultural elements and not statistical entities. It makes a whole lot of difference. By cultural entities, we mean that they are records by which we represent our world. and we act upon the world. We use them to produce, we use them to interact, we use them to communicate. In this respect, data are cultural records, once again, and not statistical entities or entities like those ones that contemporary data science debates.“ - Jannis Kallinikos
2. “Think how many things we can do that were out of reach before these beasts and these technologies and the data we produce in the facilities that they prepare for us, how many things we can do that were not virtually possible before. So there is a positive side to it. But as you English say, there is no free lunch in life. And this applies here. We win a lot. But there are also important things that we lose.“ - Jannis Kallinikos
3. “But these are difficult discussions to have in politics. Because they require a little bit of reflection, a step back, a little bit of time. Politics, for good or bad, has become very instinct based over the last three or four decades. Instinct based, more to react, target, and produce reactions of a particular type that are mostly emotional or instinctual.“ - Jannis Kallinikos
Mentioned in this episode:

• Times Higher Education: We need a social science of data by Cristina Alaimo and Jannis Kallinikos
• ISF Analyst Insight Podcast

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