The government in our country keeps track of a lot of information. Whether it’s economic data, data about health and wellness, or information about traffic and accidents, our local, state, and federal governments have probably compiled more data over the years than they know what to do with. Until the last few decades, this information didn’t really have a place or way to be stored and accessed by many people. But the invention of the internet has made it much easier to disseminate that data. This doesn’t help with the issue that there is just more data out there than the government knows what to do with. This is where the public comes in to play.
If that data, millions and millions of pieces of information about everything from income to taxes, and births to mortality rates, is shared with the brightest minds in our country and beyond, a lot may be accomplished for the common good of society.
There is always a lot of talk of government spending and budget deficits, even more so in recent years. With this in mind it is unlikely that governments can afford to pay their employees to sift through this information and produce relevant findings. Enlisting the free help of the best analysts in the world can save the country money and hopefully produce socially beneficial solutions to some current problems.
Some may fear their personal information being given out to strangers, but the work being done should use this data in aggregate. A large amount of data, not tied back to any identified individuals, can certainly have more benefit to society than harm.
This may be the answer to many of our economic, healthcare, or other societal problems. Of course, I may be giving the data analysts out there too much credit, but it is worth a shot. If one productive use comes out of this information, more will have already been done than is currently happening while over-worked government employees file this information away and never get to it.
No comments:
Post a Comment