Review: THE HUMAN FACE OF BIG DATA Unveils The Blessings and Threats of The Digital Exhaust

Sandy Smolan, whose diverse career as an award-winning director has included feature films (Rachel River), web series (In Gayle We Trust, First Day), and socially relevant documentaries (12 Stones), tackles one of the most complex and pervasive megatrends of our time in THE HUMAN FACE OF BIG DATA. The result is a provocative and remarkably well-balanced examination of the benefits and potential perils of technology's progeny.

Channeling the new vocabulary of the 21st Century, the documentary exposes the viewer to messages that she has likely already heard but not experienced in as cogent, concentrated, and understandable a manner.

Employing virtually artistic (and decidedly artistic) digital visual effects, Smolan tells a dynamic and provocative story of the various applications of massive data collection from the treatment of diseases to transportation planning, from social engineering to the spread of revolutionary movements.

The point is that all living things are transmitting data that is being collected and that can be used ~ by powers corporate, governmental, or individual ~ for good or ill. This digital exhaust can be and is being massaged and assembled as comprehensible patterns of behavior that can then be manipulated to influence behavior change, whether it's the behavior of the genome or cultures or voters. Today's data management geniuses (several of whom are interviewed and deliver sobering forecasts of future applications) can turn this data into actionable insights and accelerate the solution of complex problems or they can be the vanguard of an Orwellian world.

To his great credit, Smolan presents a balanced perspective of what is, for better or worse, the building of a global and intricately interconnected brain. The challenge to all viewers is whether they succumb to the seductive powers of big data or claim its ownership and demand accountability of its users. It's a formidable question, and Smolan has provided a platform for thoughtful conversation, informed decision-making and action.

THE HUMAN FACE OF BIG DATA is one of the featured films in this year's 22nd Annual Sedona International Film Festival.

Photo credit to THE HUMAN FACE OF BIG DATA