Mass claims: How to Value Data
Data has become a critical ingredient in the modern economy. In the same way oil powered the industrial revolution, data has powered the technological revolution of the last twenty years. Many of the world's biggest companies are now firms whose business model relies on data. Data is not just valuable to large technology firms. Since Moore's law2 has reduced the cost of sensors, processors, storage and connectivity, both smaller firms and consumers are able to take advantage of the lower transaction costs and better matching of digitisation to enable more interactions and transactions to happen in society. This digitisation has created an economy where data is a valuable asset. It can be traded in exchange for a free or reduced-cost package of goods and services, or it can be withheld to protect privacy.
