It's worth pointing out that this isn't the credit card company, but rather Target (or your favorite retailer) here doing the data mining. Does using a credit or debit card automatically grant them the right to profile your purchases simply because you agreed to let Visa track your transactions?
But more importantly, as the people who build the tools that make this possible, what is our role in deciding what is and isn't too far? I don't want to drag in the emotional intensity of this comparison, but it is similar to the scenario of arms dealing. Guns can be used to liberate or to tyrannize, and so can big data. Don't we have some level of obligation to at least consider the consequences of the technology we are providing and who we are providing it to? On Feb 16, 2012, at 1:10 PM, Michael Ryder wrote: > The predictive ability borders SPOOKY but... are you sure we aren't > confusing ethics with morality? > > http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-the-difference-between-ethics-and-morals.htm > > http://www.creditcards.com/credit-card-news/credit-card-purchase-privacy-1282.php > > My quick answer to your question is this -- people who apply for > credit cards have signed away their rights to privacy regarding their > purchases, it's built into the application. They continue to > reinforce this every time they use the card. I think the only way to > avoid this is with cash and by not filling out product registration > surveys. > > But even then, even the local mom-and-pop shop is going to do some > sort of customer modeling -- they don't want to try and sell products > that don't appeal to you, and will want to load their shelves with the > stuff that does. Even if you use cash, the clerk or store owner who > knows you by name will be able to build a list of things you like to > buy, or simply by watching what items sell the best. > > Mike > > On Thu, Feb 16, 2012 at 2:33 PM, Benjamin Krueger > <[email protected]> wrote: >> I'd like to pose an interesting question to the list. Forbes published an >> article today detailing retailer Target's data mining practices. In >> particular, Target tracks customer purchase by credit card number (in >> addition to, of course, membership cards) and uses that data to glean highly >> accurate and often extremely personal data about their customers. They then >> use this data to tailor their marketing efforts to individuals. In other >> words, the digital realm is invading the real world. >> _______________________________________________ Discuss mailing list [email protected] https://lists.lopsa.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/discuss This list provided by the League of Professional System Administrators http://lopsa.org/
