Data analytics helps marketers understand their customers’ preferences and behaviors, but there are security risks and privacy concerns to consider.
Neil Hoyne, chief measurement strategist at Google, said there’s a lot of chaos in the data analysis space, as companies are trying to figure out the future of data.
“The companies that will win in the post-pandemic world are the ones who are using data,” said Hoyne.
The symposium focused on the risks and rewards of data analytics, while keeping sharp focus on what’s ahead in the evolving world of artificial intelligence.
AI helps companies automate services and make better recommendations, but the risks associated with AI also need to be considered.
AI can create risks for companies well-versed in technology; Facebook was sued for its targeted advertising, and Amazon scrapped a recruiting software that had a gender bias.
Kalinda Ukanwa used the example of a loan application and said that the same information can be entered differently depending on the gender.
Online banks might see a surge in business, but they may suffer from long-term reputational effects due to algorithm bias.
Data analytics may help prevent bias, but it must be vigilantly monitored and tweaked.
Wharton professor Raghuram Iyengar cautioned marketers to consider how they deploy data analytics.
As a result of the current COVID-19 pandemic, companies are shifting from data analytics to prediction.
Companies are less interested in the historical tracking of consumer data and more interested in the present, more transparent and relevant data.
Barkha Saxena, chief data officer for social commerce site Poshmark, shared a framework for implementing data-driven decisions.
Data must be shared across business functions, and centralized, reliable and easy-to-access data must be the foundation.