{"id":436419,"date":"2013-04-01T00:00:59","date_gmt":"2013-04-01T07:00:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/research\/?post_type=msr-research-item&#038;p=436419"},"modified":"2018-10-16T20:23:24","modified_gmt":"2018-10-17T03:23:24","slug":"the-hidden-biases-in-big-data","status":"publish","type":"msr-research-item","link":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/research\/publication\/the-hidden-biases-in-big-data\/","title":{"rendered":"The Hidden Biases in Big Data"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>This looks to be the year that we reach peak big data hype. From wildly popular\u00a0<a class=\"msr-external-link glyph-append glyph-append-open-in-new-tab glyph-append-xsmall\" href=\"http:\/\/strataconf.com\/strata2013\">big data conferences<span class=\"sr-only\"> (opens in new tab)<\/span><\/a>\u00a0to\u00a0<a class=\"msr-external-link glyph-append glyph-append-open-in-new-tab glyph-append-xsmall\" href=\"http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2013\/02\/05\/opinion\/brooks-the-philosophy-of-data.html\">columns in major newspapers<span class=\"sr-only\"> (opens in new tab)<\/span><\/a>, the business and science worlds are focused on how large datasets can give insight on previously intractable challenges. The hype becomes problematic when it leads to what I call \u201cdata fundamentalism,\u201d the notion that correlation always indicates causation, and that massive data sets and predictive analytics always reflect objective truth. Former\u00a0<em>Wired<\/em>\u00a0editor-in-chief Chris Anderson\u00a0<a class=\"msr-external-link glyph-append glyph-append-open-in-new-tab glyph-append-xsmall\" href=\"http:\/\/www.wired.com\/science\/discoveries\/magazine\/16-07\/pb_theory\">embraced this idea<span class=\"sr-only\"> (opens in new tab)<\/span><\/a>\u00a0in his comment, \u201cwith enough data, the numbers speak for themselves.\u201d But can big data really deliver on that promise? Can numbers actually speak for themselves?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This looks to be the year that we reach peak big data hype. From wildly popular\u00a0big data conferences\u00a0to\u00a0columns in major newspapers, the business and science worlds are focused on how large datasets can give insight on previously intractable challenges. The hype becomes problematic when it leads to what I call \u201cdata fundamentalism,\u201d the notion that 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