About The Episode

Every now and then I like to take a step back from the direct examples of automation which are typically showcased with the guests that I have on, and look at relevant connected issues to the topic of automation. This week’s episode will do just that and look at the larger topic of data privacy and protection. This is a topic that has been getting a lot of attention in recent years with events like Edward Snowden’s whistleblowing, Facebook’s Cambridge Analytica scandal, and the numerous data breaches that impact millions of people every year. But more importantly, as I hope this podcast has been showing, as our world becomes both more digitised and more automated, data is becoming more and more central to the way the world operates, and thus vulnerability in both our businesses and personal lives needs to be taken more seriously. I’m sure we have all been faced with a new app,  software update, or website we want to use and instantly skip the lengthy, maybe even legally phrased user and data agreements. But I think that as time goes on and as we continue to use more digital and automation tools, the instant acceptance of these agreements will become more and more important to reconsider. 

As I see it, there are really three levels of concerns, basic data theft, individual freedom or wellbeing, and more unnerving future implications. I’ll explore all three of these but first I think it’s important to set a bit of context.