The TV show Person of Interest featured a powerful computer that could predict terrorist activity based on analysis of past behavior and real-time data streaming into the machine from thousands of camera and sensors. It was deployed in New York City, but its reach was much broader. If the machine spit out your Social Security number, you became a “person of interest” to the government. The show was fictional, but the machine’s abilities are not. We already live in a world where we can be traced, analyzed and surveilled without our knowledge. Is online privacy an oxymoron? How secure is your personal data today? How much is it worth? Who owns it?

FIT Tech Talks: Big Data, Privacy and Security, Friday, February 2, 2018