We live in the era of Big Data. Its algorithms pervade our lives-shaping our purchases, our finances, our health care, our education, our communities, our public policy. Armed with phones, computers, and countless other devices, society has produced more data in the past two years – a zettabyte – than the prior span of human civilization. Yet the promise of Big Data lies not only in quantity but in the quality of our analyses and the foresight of our applications. Is Big Data the future of scientific inquiry? Are we giving too much power to algorithms, seeking large-scale patterns, with the risk of losing the core of our humanity? Join us to explore the potential and perils of Big Data.
The Big Ideas Series is supported in part by the John Templeton Foundation.
The World Science Festival gathers great minds in science and the arts to produce live and digital content that allows a broad general audience to engage with scientific discoveries. Our mission is to cultivate a general public informed by science, inspired by its wonder, convinced of its value, and prepared to engage with its implications for the future.
