The Indicator: Destroying Personal Digital Data
Short Wave
NPR
4.7 • 6.5K Ratings
🗓️ 6 April 2022
⏱️ 10 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Algorithms are the secret sauce for many tech platforms. With user data, they can help a company tailor a subscriber's experience and make the product better. But what happens when the data that feeds an algorithm is obtained through less than legal means?
We learn about the curious case of Kurbo, the weight loss app for kids that the feds say illegally collected data to generate that secret sauce.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | You're listening to Shortwave from NPR. |
| 0:04.6 | Hey there Shortwaveers, Aaron Scott here. |
| 0:07.9 | Do you ever have that experience where you're thinking about how much you want a donut? |
| 0:14.6 | And then later you're scrolling through your phone and you see an ad for donuts as if |
| 0:19.1 | your phone has read your mind, invaded your private space up there in your brain. |
| 0:24.3 | Well, your phone is not exactly reading your mind, but the apps and online services on |
| 0:30.3 | it have algorithms and these algorithms use your data to personalize ads and recommendations. |
| 0:37.1 | And sometimes they can be so good, it feels like telepathy. |
| 0:40.7 | This episode from the indicator is about how government regulators are starting to scrutinize |
| 0:45.6 | this. |
| 0:46.6 | Am I actually really difficult for companies to get rid of that data? |
| 0:50.4 | All right, I'll leave you in the good hands of Waylan Wong and Adrian Wong from the indicator. |
| 1:04.3 | This is the indicator from Planet Money. |
| 1:06.0 | I'm Waylan Wong. |
| 1:07.0 | And I'm Adrian Wong. |
| 1:08.5 | The other night, John Verde watched a classic film. |
| 1:11.1 | A movie I am also obsessed with. |
| 1:13.7 | The 1991 action film Point Break. |
| 1:16.9 | Now is that like the 100th time you watched Point Break, 50th time? |
| 1:20.4 | It's well into the dozens. |
| 1:21.7 | Oh my God, Point Break. |
| 1:23.2 | I just saw this movie like a couple of weeks ago for the first time. |
... |
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