EPISODE · Sep 25, 2020 · 14 MIN
The Utopian Impulses of the TED Talk Crowd: Can Big Data Solve Our Social Problems?
from On The Very Idea - A Philosophy Podcast · host Tony Bologna
Big data is the use of extremely large data sets that may be analysed computationally to reveal patterns, trends, and associations. Some of the more optimistic among us think that big data can be employed to craft better social policy thereby creating more functional and livable societies. I trace the origins of this techno optimism showing its roots in Auguste Comte's Postivism movement in the 19th century and the earlier dreams of the Enlightenment and hint at what may be lacking in such optimism.
What this episode covers
Big data is the use of extremely large data sets that may be analysed computationally to reveal patterns, trends, and associations. Some of the more optimistic among us think that big data can be employed to craft better social policy thereby creating more functional and livable societies. I trace the origins of this techno optimism showing its roots in Auguste Comte's Postivism movement in the 19th century and the earlier dreams of the Enlightenment and hint at what may be lacking in such optimism.
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The Utopian Impulses of the TED Talk Crowd: Can Big Data Solve Our Social Problems?
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