12. Information Changes Everything: Implications for Society

This chapter explores the social implications of the patterns introduced earlier in the book. Efficiency in pricing and in the allocation of goods means more of us get what we really want, more of the time. That’s good. However, this efficiency comes with a price. It dramatically reduces what we traditionally call fairness, and this will become worse. We are not all viewed as equal by companies, and they will increasingly be able to treat us differently. They will have the information needed to dramatically reduce fairness. Should we accept this? Should we change our definition of fairness? Or do we need new social policies? In our new online world, every text you send, every search you make, every step you take, they’ll be watching you. But where do we draw the line? Big data aggregators note everything we do, and we can’t be certain that their use of the information helps us. Should we care? Should we protect ourselves from the integration, reuse, and sale of personal information? This chapter and the next one end the book with some suggestions for privacy regulation and proposes a few simple measures we can take to protect our own privacy and the privacy of our families.