It is amazing how cyberspace will keep data stored about us and how it can get a hold of it quickly. Looking for information on the net will generate a record of the person–there will be too much information known about everyone. This can be good or bad depending on what the info is needed for. It is kind of strange if just about anyone can find personal information about a person at the click of the mouse. According to Lessig, data mining (great name) does not involve hard manual labor like mining for precious metals, the mining for data is not hard but it can be dangerous to society. The goal of data mining is to classify objects. These objects can be people who are assigned labels, this can be a form of discrimination against people. People will be classified by the things they buy. This can bring about conflict in our society, just like discrimination against minorities brought for years.
I do not believe the associative rules are bad because these rules are categories about movies and other products, and what will make these products more appealing to the customer. This, I believe, will be useful for the customers. All these ways of getting information can violate people’s privacy, but it can be useful in the war against terrorists, and crimes.
