Facebook is (epic) down for me, hence I'm posting here. I came across Gizmodo's entry (which I borrowed the title from) on the indifference of data. Simply, data is the whole truth, and then none of it.

Data gives us a platform to identify a particular situation with numbers. These numbers may be absolte, or they may be relative.

However,

Data convey neither emotions nor compassion. Numbers may be presented with certain units, but these units are always objective. Percentages are mere fractions of a story, but the meaning of the story is lost in a chart.



Look at the image. To the seismometer, all it sees and reports is just some extra long lines, but the pictures from the Haitian earthquake "defies description" (to quote the Gizmodo entry).

In the not-so-distant future, will this be how war-fighting robots perceive humans? Just a percentage or a number on a scale of potential threat? And that is why it is fascinating to follow the development of robots, war and ethics.

Ponder about data the next time you see them... they may not be as simple as you think.