the world’s biggest retailer generated 35% of its revenue from consumer insights derived from data analysed by Artificial Intelligence (AI) algorithms; the global big data and business market, valued at $122 billion in 2015 is predicted to grow to $274.3 billion by 20222; and Netflix is reported to save up to $1 billion each year on customer retention as a result of data analytics.

Data analytics is enabling businesses to make INFORMED decisions that enhance the bottom line in no small measure.

How easy it is for the conversation around data analytics to focus on maximising profits with little thought for the data privacy of consumers. It is a fact that at the other end of the conversation on the commercial value from data analytics is a huge volume of personal data. Just like oil, to which data is considered to be akin, data analytics enables industrial and business advancement but leaves in its trail a potential for personal data abuse, with consequences that possibly outmatch the environmental hazards from oil exploration.

A bottom line is that, unlike oil, data collection and analytics represent an inexhaustible potential for market growth – at least as long as it is legal, and the internet exists.

The highlight of this article is how the legal and regulatory apparatus can be used to assist in the building of public trust in the processes, logic and algorithms of companies that analyse and profile datasets to predict consumer behaviour.

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