Methodology
This project – using the water crisis in Flint, Michigan, as a case study model – examines the question of how media coverage of a current issue in the news relates to public interest in the issue and its relevance to their own lives.
Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
Read our research on:
Search results for: “digital privacy”
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report
Theme 5: Algorithmic categorizations deepen divides
Two lines of thinking about societal divisions were embodied in many respondents’ answers. First, they predicted that an algorithm-assisted future will widen the gap between the digitally savvy, who are the most desired customers in the new information ecosystem, and disadvantage those who are not nearly as connected or able to participate. The second observation […]
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3. Attitudes about cybersecurity policy
Cybersecurity does not just impact Americans at an individual level: These issues have potentially profound implications for the U.S. government, law enforcement agencies and the companies and other entities that maintain the nation’s infrastructure. On this front, Americans’ views and perceptions of the national cybersecurity environment are complex and multifaceted. Although their knowledge of some […]
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Theme 3: Humanity and human judgment are lost when data and predictive modeling become paramount
Many respondents said that as people put too much faith in data, humanity can be lost. Some argued that because technology corporations and, sometimes, governments are most often the agencies behind the code, algorithms are written to optimize efficiency and profitability without much thought about the possible societal impacts of the data modeling and analysis. […]
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Code-Dependent: Pros and Cons of the Algorithm Age
Algorithms can save lives, make things easier and conquer chaos. But experts worry about governmental and corporate control of the data, and how algorithms can produce biased results and worsen digital divides.
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Theme 2: Good things lie ahead
Many respondents to the canvassing pointed out that algorithms are already the backbone for most systems and it is quite evident they have been mostly of great benefit and will continue to improve every aspect of life. Their driving idea is that great things will be achieved thanks to recent and coming advances in algorithm-based […]
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Theme 1: The training ecosystem will evolve, with a mix of innovation in all education formats
To a striking degree, the experts who answered “yes” – that new ways of teaching and learning will successfully emerge for job skills advancement – focused on how trainers, educators and employers will innovate new ways to implement and partner with technology to provide solutions that enhance outcomes. Many of the hopeful respondents predicted that […]
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Theme 7: The need grows for algorithmic literacy, transparency and oversight
The respondents to this canvassing offered a variety of ideas about how individuals and the broader culture might respond to the algorithm-ization of life. They noted that those who create and evolve algorithms are not held accountable to society and argued there should be some method by which they are. They also argued there is […]
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short reads
The state of privacy in post-Snowden America
After the June 2013 leaks by Edward Snowden about NSA surveillance of Americans’ communications, Pew Research Center began an in-depth exploration of people’s views and behaviors related to privacy. Here’s what we learned.
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data essay
Searching for News: The Flint water crisis
Many Americans turned to Google to learn about the Flint water crisis. An analysis of aggregated searches over time illustrates how, in today’s digital environment, public interest shifts as a story unfolds.