Office of the Saskatchewan Information and Privacy Commissioner. Guide to FOIP, Chapter 6, Protection of Privacy. Updated 27 February 2023. 351 FOCUS ON ISSUES IN PRIVACY Big Data and Predictive Analytics Big data refers to the sorting, matching, and analyzing of data sets to identify patterns, trends, and insights. Sometimes known as “data matching”, the benefits of big data include policy development, system planning, resource allocation and performance monitoring.838 It can also be used to analyze disease patterns and outbreaks as well as to detect fraud. However, despite the benefits, big data impacts citizens’ privacy by including the personal information and personal health information within the data sets used. Big data may enable governments to conduct surveillance on its citizens and how they live their lives.839 Predictive analytics is the identification of patterns and trends to predictive future behavior.840 Predictive analytics can be used in areas such as law enforcement and policing but raises privacy concerns.841 Further, big data is critical for training and testing “artificial intelligence” systems. Professors David Poole, Alan Mackworth and Randy Goebel define artificial intelligence (AI) as “any device that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its chance of successfully achieving its goals”.842 AI raises fairness and privacy issues, especially when used by governments. AI systems have demonstrated bias and augments the ability to use personal information in ways that infringe privacy interests.843 838 SK OIPC, New Amendments (FOIP & LA FOIP), March 6, 2018. Available at PowerPoint Presentation (oipc.sk.ca) at p. 44. Accessed December 22, 2022. 839 ON IPC resource, Big Data and Your Privacy Rights, available at fact-sheet-big-data-with-links.pdf (ipc.on.ca) at p. 2. Accessed December 22, 2022. 840 BC IPC, 2015-2016 Annual Report, available at 2173 (oipc.bc.ca) at p. 23. Accessed December 22, 2022. 841 BC IPC, Leveraging the Transparency Effect in Police Governance, February 28, 2014. Available at 1624 (oipc.bc.ca) at p.3. Accessed December 22, 2022. 842 BC IPC, Getting Ahead of the Curve: Meeting the Challenges to Privacy and Fairness Arising from the Use of Artificial Intelligence in the Public Sector, available at 3546 (oipc.bc.ca) at p. 5. Accessed December 22, 2022. 843 BC IPC, Getting Ahead of the Curve: Meeting the Challenges to Privacy and Fairness Arising from the Use of Artificial Intelligence in the Public Sector, available at 3546 (oipc.bc.ca) at p. 1. Accessed December 22, 2022.
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