The ability to monitor, record, and analyze information about human biology has never been so quick or so accurate as it is today. By monitoring—not only our own health—but the health of those around us, doctors and scientists can now predict a virus outbreak before it happens, forever transforming disease as we know it. And at the crux of these opportunities to transform disease is the application of the Quantified Self—a movement initiated in 2007 by two editors of Wired magazine developed for those interested in tracking and recording every nuance of their lives, from the number of bites they take to the type of brain wave patterns that occur while sleeping.
Big Data collecting is ubiquitous, even if you aren’t using a FitBit. Social media activity is constantly being collected, tracking your behavioral data, and your smartphone collects data about your location without any of your input at all! Today Randi discussed the Human Face of Big Data with two experts in the field: Rick Smolan the author of “The Human Face of Big Data” and Executive Producer of the show of the same name now airing on PBS; and Anmol Madan, the CEO of mood tracking app Ginger.io:
RICK SMOLAN“It’s always strange when a friend posts something sad to say “Like.” It’s important to pay attention to what’s happening in life.”
“I go to this TED conference every year. It’s like having your brain tickled for 5 days.”
“Marissa Meyer asked if I was looking into Big Data. She said the planet is growing a nervous system.”
“I have the coolest job. I get to ask 100 heroes to look at emerging topics.”
“Our species is experiencing so many problems because of the lack of study between cause and effect.”
“All of the data created by human race from cavemen through 2003 doesn’t compare to the data we put out every 2 days.”
“We’re putting out more data than all of time.”
“Those of us in the West are exposed to more information in one day then it our ancestors were in their entire life.”
“We’ve become so dependent on the grid. If the grid stops working we don’t have a backup system.”
“It’s these Million Dollar Blocks where the government is spending a million dollars in the justice system. How about taking a little bit of money and using it for early education?”
“This is the thing I love about Ginger.io is personalization of medicine.”
“The gamification of health is my favorite. My brother and I compete to see who walks the most.”
“As our health care costs go up our devices can catch these things in the beginning.”
“We can catch a disease the first month not after 6 years.”
“We all thought that children learn the more times they hear a word. But it’s not by repetition, it’s by context.”
“Any time there’s a new tool everyone wants to scream the sky is falling.”
“There should be a Data Bill of Rights.”
“We won a Webby for Best App of the Year.”
“Governments and corporations try to control us. We have to decide if we want our data out there right now before it’s going to be hard to do.”
“The NIH said that when Steve Jobs sequenced his genome was $10,000. Now that same process costs $300.”
“In 5 years we can do a $40 test and get personalized medicine for cures to help us with what we need.”
“These devices give us so much convenience. Look at the Waze app, you’re donating your data to give it value in return.”
“I use VIA, the NYC car app.”
Watch the HUMAN FACE of BIG DATA on Curiosity.com for FREE!
ANMOL MADAN“We went from a tech company to a mental health company.”
“60 million people suffer from mental health issues and 40 million aren’t getting good care.”
“The evolution from Big Data and scaling and understanding people is now designed to help people.”
“Clinical support, medication, or therapy is about understanding the person.”
“Your phone’s behaviors can help us understand mental health disorders.”
“For the first time in our society we can measure and understand mental health.”
“In the last 6 months we were building a tech platform. What we learned is that we built an electric motor and now have to build a car around it.”
“Life events trigger mental health conditions. We can change the healthcare surrounding that. ”
“Let’s help people that’s easy, convenient, and available to those who need it.”
“Ginger.io is for anxiety and depression. It begins by building a model of who the user is.”
“There is always access to a mental health professional to get help from.”
“We’re now a licensed medical provider so we can help clinical professionals get the support or medication more effectively.”
“If we have a strong understanding of the user and get them help in the moment.”
“For the person who is depressed everything is very hard. Data sends a message to check in or notify the correct people to help.”
“Most people don’t need medication.”
“How do we build businesses the right way with all this data that is already out there?”
“The burden of creating the right system with the right legislation is up to the companies to step up and build better tools in our life.”
“Facebook was revolutionary for social scientists.”
“Security and privacy needs to be addressed on Day 1. We need to create experiences where users don’t need to feel paranoid. The real burden in on the company designing the platform.”
“Outside of healthcare, there’s a lot of secondary data that’s like something out of science fiction. There’s a lot of data and nowhere to put it.”
Join ‘Dot Complicated with Randi Zuckerberg’ next week when Nicole Lapin, author of Rich Bitch, talks finances & family only on SiriusXM Business Channel 111, 12pm ET!!
Subscribe to the Dot Complicated newsletter and receive a monthly update containing our latest blog posts, events, and more so you can stay informed on digital solutions and tech trends without getting overwhelmed. 