What Business Leaders Should Know About Democratized Data

Throughout the history of digital technology, data was largely the language of vigorously trained computer scientists and engineers. Only in the past decade, with the influx of highly-targeted social advertising, has data really entered the public consciousness. Privacy legislation like the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), enacted in 2018, and next year's California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), have helped data become part of the common tongue. This legislation means more control for consumers and accountability for enterprises, ultimately laying the groundwork for data's next phase: democratization. When I first heard this idea of data democratization a few years ago, it was said that the democratization of data would create a technological utopia. Of course, utopia is elusive, and societal applications of technologies -- however well-intentioned -- do not always pan out as planned.