Some ethicists have taken a very strong stance against the data broker economy itself, saying it should be abolished. Spanish philosopher Carissa Véliz covers this in her book “Privacy is Power”:
“The logic of the data economy is a perverse one: mine as much personal data from people as possible, at any cost. And we are paying too steep a price for digital tech. We are no longer treated as malaysia whatsapp number data equals; we are each treated according to our data. We don’t see the same content, we don’t pay the same price for the same product, and we are not offered the same opportunities. The data economy is undermining equality.” (Véliz, 2020)
She isn’t alone. Other academic researchers, such as Nick Couldry, Wendy H. Wong, and Elizabeth Reneris, have raised similar types of concerns.
What About Your Organization?
Companies sitting on vast amounts of customer and employee data might also be thinking about using it for a range of other purposes, including to train AI models. However, before doing that, it’s a good idea to seek legal advice as to whether or not that is possible given your prior privacy policies. Repercussions for being offside could include class action lawsuits and penalties from regulators up to and including algorithmic disgorgement, the enforced destruction of your model.