is surprisingly accurate, including knowing my line of work…
…and that I’m married…
…and even that I like cats (although, curiously, not that I like dogs as well!)…
This does make me think about where and how it deduced all this information (my emails, search history, location etc.?), and what else it (thinks it) knows that it’s not telling me…
What are the ethical issues at stake?
While Google has clearly put a lot of effort into trying to improve its image of transparency (with this carefully branded information presented to me, which I can even alter to a degree), I am fairly cynical of this – surely this is a carefully calculated decision, in order that they can maintain an image of transparency whilst collecting ever increasing amounts of data which they can profit from and dominate the advertising industry?
However, I am conflicted, as so much of “myself” is embedded in Google services; the complexity of withdrawing is unthinkable, certainly from a convenience point of view and the time to do so would be significant. Despite this, I do not believe this kind of data collection is a particularly ethical practice, regardless of the “transparency”, and I would much rather personal details about my relationships in particular were not known by Google (I have never explicitly given them such details, and only in checking this page ).
It is important to view this kind of “transparency”, and also the ability to “download” your data (which is common in many “apps” including Facebook and a requirement in the European Union) in a wider context. What format is it in, and will you understand it? What will you do with it? Do you have the necessary skills, or the money to pay someone who does? Simply providing the data in an ‘open’ format can still create exclusions for those who are powerless to do anything with it.
Even more worryingly, some people’s activity online has led to false police visits or even detainment under the Terrorism Act. The latter case was a master’s student researching terrorism who happened to be a Muslim, demonstrating how a combination of “flags” can lead to serious discrimination. (See Tanczer et al. 2016 for methods researchers might use to resist such surveillance.) Thus, what Google “knows” or “thinks” about us is of great importance, particularly if you have a “profile” which “fits” a particular set of criteria (which may result in a reinforcement of existing prejudices and further discrimination).