Viktor Mayer-Schönberger

Bio: Viktor Mayer-Schönberger is an academic researcher from University of Oxford. The author has contributed to research in topics: Big data & The Internet. The author has an hindex of 18, co-authored 47 publications receiving 1799 citations. Previous affiliations of Viktor Mayer-Schönberger include Harvard University & University of California, Berkeley.

Delete: The Virtue of Forgetting in the Digital Age

Abstract: Delete looks at the surprising phenomenon of perfect remembering in the digital age, and reveals why we must reintroduce our capacity to forget. Digital technology empowers us as never before, yet it has unforeseen consequences as well. Potentially humiliating content on Facebook is enshrined in cyberspace for future employers to see. Google remembers everything we've searched for and when. The digital realm remembers what is sometimes better forgotten, and this has profound implications for us all. In Delete, Viktor Mayer-Schnberger traces the important role that forgetting has played throughout human history, from the ability to make sound decisions unencumbered by the past to the possibility of second chances. The written word made it possible for humans to remember across generations and time, yet now digital technology and global networks are overriding our natural ability to forget--the past is ever present, ready to be called up at the click of a mouse. Mayer-Schnberger examines the technology that's facilitating the end of forgetting--digitization, cheap storage and easy retrieval, global access, and increasingly powerful software--and describes the dangers of everlasting digital memory, whether it's outdated information taken out of context or compromising photos the Web won't let us forget. He explains why information privacy rights and other fixes can't help us, and proposes an ingeniously simple solution--expiration dates on information--that may. Delete is an eye-opening book that will help us remember how to forget in the digital age.

The Rise of Big Data: How It’s Changing the Way We Think about the World

Abstract: Kenneth Cukier and Viktor Mayer-Schoenberger E veryone knows that the Internet has changed how businesses operate, governments function, and people live. But a new, less visible technological trend is just as transformative: "big data." Big data starts with the fact that there is a lot more information floating around these days than ever before, and it is being put to extraordinary new uses. Big data is distinct from the Internet, although the Web makes it much easier to collect and share data. Big data is about more than just communication: the idea is that we can learn from a large body of information things that we could not comprehend when we used only smaller amounts. In the third century BC, the Library of Alexandria was believed to house the sum of human knowledge. Today, there is enough information in the world to give every person alive 320 times as much of it as historians think was stored in Alexandria's entire collection-an estimated 1,200 exabytes' worth. If all this information were placed on CDs and they were stacked up, the CDs would form five separate piles that would all reach to the moon. This explosion of data is relatively new. As recently as the year 2000, only one-quarter of all the world's stored information was digital. The rest was preserved on paper, film, and other analog media. But because the amount of digital data expands so quickly-doubling around

Governance and Information Technology: From Electronic Government to Information Government

Abstract: Developments in information and communication technology and networked computing over the past two decades have given rise to the notion of electronic government, most commonly used to refer to the delivery of public services over the Internet. This volume argues for a shift from the narrow focus of "electronic government" on technology and transactions to the broader perspective of information government--the information flows within the public sector, between the public sector and citizens, and among citizens--as a way to understand the changing nature of governing and governance in an information society. The chapters discuss the interplay between recent technological developments and evolving information flows, and the implications of different information flows for efficiency, political mobilization, and democratic accountability. The chapters are accompanied by short case studies from around the world, which cover such topics as electronic government efforts in Singapore and Switzerland, the U.S Environmental Protection Agency's effort to solicit input on planned regulations over the Internet, and online activism "cyberprotesting" globalization.ContributorsRobert D. Behn, Maria Christina Binz-Scharf, Herbert Burkert, Lorenzo Cantoni, Cary Coglianese, Martin J. Eppler, Jane E. Fountain, Monique Girard, Ake Gronlund, Matthew Hindman, Edwin Lau, David Lazer, Viktor Mayer-Schonberger, Ines Mergel, Gopal Raman, David Stark, Sandor Vegh, Darrell M. West Viktor Mayer-Schonberger is Associate Professor of Public Policy at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and chairs the Rueschlikon Conferences on Information Policy. David Lazer is Associate Professor of Public Policy at the John F. Kennedy School of Government and Director and founder of the Program on Networked Governance at Harvard University. He is the editor of DNA and the Criminal Justice System: The Technology of Justice (MIT Press, 2004).

Notice and consent in a world of Big Data

Abstract: Nowadays individuals are often presented with long and complex privacy notices routinely written by lawyers for lawyers, and are then requested to either ‘consent’ or abandon the use of the desired service.The over-use of notice and consent presents increasing challenges in an age of ‘Big Data’.These phenomena are receiving attention particularly in the context of the current review of the OECD Privacy Guidelines.In 2012 Microsoft sponsored an initiative designed to engage leading regulators, industry executives, public interest advocates, and academic experts in frank discussions about the role of individual control and notice and consent in data protection today, and alternative models for providing better protection for both information privacy and valuable data flows in the emerging world of Big Data and cloud computing.

Bridging the Gap: The Role of Spatial Information Technologies in the Integration of Traditional Environmental Knowledge and Western Science

Abstract: Agenda 21 dedicates a whole chapter to the role and importance of information for sustainable development. Among the provisions on harnessing the potential of information and communication technologies (ICT) one paragraph addresses the need for a strengthening of the capacity for traditional information. Local communities and resource users should benefit from mechanisms that provide them with the know-how they need to manage their environment and resources sustainably, applying traditional and indigenous knowledge and approaches. This paper will examine how this objective is being implemented through the use of spatial information systems (including GPS and Remote Sensing), which collect, manipulate and distribute data on a variety of environmental factors, in order to inform and encourage sustainable resource management practices. Some initiatives have adopted grassroots and participatory approaches, whereby local communities map their territories and resources with the help of information technologies. This paper will review a sample of these projects and analyze how they can generate synergies between traditional knowledge and modern science.

Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy

Abstract: Evolutionary psychology is one of many biologically informed approaches to the study of human behavior. Along with cognitive psychologists, evolutionary psychologists propose that much, if not all, of our behavior can be explained by appeal to internal psychological mechanisms. What distinguishes evolutionary psychologists from many cognitive psychologists is the proposal that the relevant internal mechanisms are adaptations—products of natural selection—that helped our ancestors get around the world, survive and reproduce. To understand the central claims of evolutionary psychology we require an understanding of some key concepts in evolutionary biology, cognitive psychology, philosophy of science and philosophy of mind. Philosophers are interested in evolutionary psychology for a number of reasons. For philosophers of science —mostly philosophers of biology—evolutionary psychology provides a critical target. There is a broad consensus among philosophers of science that evolutionary psychology is a deeply flawed enterprise. For philosophers of mind and cognitive science evolutionary psychology has been a source of empirical hypotheses about cognitive architecture and specific components of that architecture. Philosophers of mind are also critical of evolutionary psychology but their criticisms are not as all-encompassing as those presented by philosophers of biology. Evolutionary psychology is also invoked by philosophers interested in moral psychology both as a source of empirical hypotheses and as a critical target.

Estimation and Inference in Econometrics

Abstract: Offering a unifying theoretical perspective not readily available in any other text, this innovative guide to econometrics uses simple geometrical arguments to develop students' intuitive understanding of basic and advanced topics, emphasizing throughout the practical applications of modern theory and nonlinear techniques of estimation. One theme of the text is the use of artificial regressions for estimation, reference, and specification testing of nonlinear models, including diagnostic tests for parameter constancy, serial correlation, heteroscedasticity, and other types of mis-specification. Explaining how estimates can be obtained and tests can be carried out, the authors go beyond a mere algebraic description to one that can be easily translated into the commands of a standard econometric software package. Covering an unprecedented range of problems with a consistent emphasis on those that arise in applied work, this accessible and coherent guide to the most vital topics in econometrics today is indispensable for advanced students of econometrics and students of statistics interested in regression and related topics. It will also suit practising econometricians who want to update their skills. Flexibly designed to accommodate a variety of course levels, it offers both complete coverage of the basic material and separate chapters on areas of specialized interest.