[New Scientist Article] Data trackers monitor your life so they can nudge you

From the 7 November 2013 New Scientist article by Hal Hodson

Once you know everything about a person, you can influence their behaviour. A thousand students with tattletale phones are going to find out how easy that is

THERE’S something strange about this year’s undergraduate class at the Technical University of Denmark – they all have exactly the same kind of phone.

The phones are tracking everywhere the students go, who they meet and when, and every text they send. Around 1000 students are volunteers in the largest-ever experiment of its kind, one that could change our understanding of how we interact in groups.

Sune Lehmann and Arek Stopczynski of DTU are using the data to build a model of the social network the students live in – who talks to who, where groups gather. They plan to test whether the results can be used for purposes like boosting student achievement, or even improving mental health. “We hope to be able to figure out how to make this work in terms of academic performance,” says Lehmann.

This is sociology on a different scale, gathering detailed data about an entire group and then using that information to “nudge” them into changing their behaviour. Used ethically, the results could improve the way society works, transforming everything from healthcare and public transport to education and governance. Used for the wrong reasons, it could be extremely dangerous.

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Used ethically, the results could improve the way society works, transforming everything from healthcare and public transport to education and governance. Used for the wrong reasons, it could be extremely dangerous.

…

Used ethically, the results could improve the way society works, transforming everything from healthcare and public transport to education and governance. Used for the wrong reasons, it could be extremely dangerous. a 2010 study, participants were encouraged to boost their activity levels either through personal rewards, or rewards given to a buddy who was supposed to keep tabs on them. Being motivated by an incentivised buddy resulted in twice the activity increase of the direct reward.

…

..nudges related to public health could be as simple as allowing doctors to ring up their patients when their activity levels start to follow patterns that correlate with, say, diabetes or depression, and asking them if they are feeling OK.

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But we shouldn’t lose sight of the potential dark side, says Evan Selinger, a technology ethicist at the Rochester Institute of Technology in New York. “There is extraordinary power in the access to data at a personal level – even predicting future behaviour,” he says. “There’s a lot to be gained, but there’s a lot of problems that scare the living ******** out of me.”

 

 

Related articles

• It’s time to close the Government’s sinister ‘Nudge Unit’ and let the free market take over (blogs.telegraph.co.uk)
• Doctors Track Your Physical Activity Through Smartphones (biospace.com)

 

[Reblog] Infographic: Health and Transportation

[Reblog] From the Robert Woods Foundation site

Better Transportation Options=Healthier Lives

The NewPublicHealth National Prevention Strategy series is underway, including interviews with Cabinet Secretaries and their National Prevention Council designees, exploring the impact of transportation, education and more on health. “Better Transportation Options = Healthier Lives” tells a visual story on the role of transportation in the health of our communities.

Some highlights:

• Public transit users walk an average of 19 minutes getting to and from public transportation.
• Countries with lower rates of obesity tend to have higher rates of commuters who walk or bike to work.
• The risk of obesity increases 6% with every additional mile spent in the car, and decreases 5% with every kilometer walked.
• Lengthy commutes cost $100 billion each year in excess fuel costs and lost productivity.
• More than 30,000 people died in car wrecks in 2010.
• Strong seatbelt and child safety laws resulted in a 25% decrease in car accident deaths since 2005.

Also check out our previous infographic exploring the connection betweeneducation and health.

 

>>For more on transportation and health: Read our interview with Ray LaHood, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation.

VIEW THE FULL INFOGRAPHIC:

Tags: Public health, Transportation, Transportation policy, Public Health ,Transportation, National Prevention Strategy

 

Related articles

• The World’s Greenest Cities [Infographic] (urbantimes.co)
• Put the “Public” Back in Public Transportation (obrag.org)
• Is obesity a heavy drag on fuel economy? (mnn.com)