Unsurprisingly, the next one The tech megacycle is booming in Brazil. The fast-growing region’s ecosystem has matured since 2012, leading to unprecedented legislative reform, technological innovation and a massive increase in global investment.
Like the classic “follow the money” advice, the latest major technology changes from computing, telephony, internet and mobile advancements have evolved alongside more advanced payment methods that have helped consumers and businesses take advantage of them. The world is shifting from software to data – the lifeblood of AI education.
The convergence of big tech, finance and government has enabled a new data economy. While artificial intelligence is considered the next big thing, it is only part of the story because data is the “oil” that fuels AI. The first move in the megacycle was the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) when the EU championed data privacy in 2016. Brazil has strengthened and created comparative data privacy rights and is investing heavily in data infrastructure and regulation to enable citizens to leverage their personal data.
Many of the billions of dollars in AI investment they come from tech giants led by Amazon, Google and Microsoft. Much of that money goes back to these strategic corporate investors in the fees they charge for access to their expensive cloud platforms.
There’s a cog in the wheel for Big Tech and others — from biotech and healthcare innovators to big banks, big brands and their marketing agencies, and even governments — as mostly free access to our collective personal data likely to be eliminated by the late 2020s: The same data that feeds our AI systems that we collectively produce must be earned, tracked and curated.
But a new data-sharing system that diffuses ownership and control of this critical data to everyday citizens could create new models upon which startups can innovate. Our data could power a whole new data economy that could benefit every person who participates in it or not, based on their decision making.
In short, unlimited use of personal data ends. And it leads to the next megacycle.
Data privacy will evolve into data ownership rights in 2024
Our data could power a whole new data economy that could benefit every person who participates in it or not, based on their decision making.
The next technological megacycle — one in which everyday citizens around the world own and control their AI-empowered personal data — began about a year before the global COVID pandemic. In early 2019, Apple CEO Tim Cook’s essay in Time magazine The call for a set of landmark reforms to protect and empower consumers has helped spark a cultural and legislative shift away from unrestricted access to and collection of our personal data. Apple has committed to much more sustainable business operations moving towards 2030, so we’re seeing an effort to better align one of the world’s most valuable technology brands with a clear and compelling social responsibility.
Regarding these issues, Cook wrote: “In 2019, it’s time to stand up for the right to privacy — yours, mine, all of us. Consumers should not have to put up with another year of companies irresponsibly amassing massive user profiles, data breaches that seem out of control, and the vanished ability to control our own digital lives.”
Since then, more data protection regulations have emerged and the ability to track consumer buying habits and preferences has diminished. Some of the world’s most progressive thinkers, such as California’s governor Gavin Newsomhave called for various forms of a “new data dividend” that would provide a framework for everyday citizens to gather value or monetary compensation for their data that could be exchanged with various organizations.
