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JeffSilvermanAMA500 karma

I was the chief of intelligence at a corrections complex. The warden wanted me to conduct a vulnerability assessment on how secure the prison was. Using only data available to an observant prisoner, I figured out a route that would make it out of the prison...so I did it....once through the roof and once through a sewer. Some of my analytics were used to overload the system (ie response force) such as triggering the motion sensors in other locations (ie throw rocks at them!) to get through to the end. I will note, all of the vulnerabilities were noted and corrected and the prisoners are still secure, no escapes!

JeffSilvermanAMA376 karma

Ha.....I guess we could chart number of comments by user, Identify the user locations, and see where there is interest. You could bring in sentiment analysis, which rates how pro vs con the words used by comment to derive if the content was well received. Taking that information you build the next AMA to optimize the likes of certain regions/people to make it more effective? Or.....conversely, we could geo locate the trolls and exterminate? J/K.....all in what you want to do...

JeffSilvermanAMA321 karma

Evaluating data (and deriving insight) is not meant to be good or bad, its simply a tool. For every bad guy you stop using these methods, you can also use insights to make bad choices or take advantage of people. I think it is entirely on the user's moral compass on what they apply such analysis for. If a company chooses to abuse their access to data, they should be held accountable. I do think a responsible analyst with a proper and authorized reason can make a world of difference.

JeffSilvermanAMA304 karma

Happy to weigh in. There are good eggs and bad ones when it comes to access to data and how to use it. I will tell you of the various analytic teams I have led over the years, we are very careful to adhere to EO 12333, the Intelligence Oversight executive order that limits collection on US Persons unless it meets certain legal criteria. One of those is Law Enforcement purposes, which is authorized under specific charters. A lot of times we in the analytics community cannot divulge how such tools were used to stop the bombing, otherwise we tip our hand for the next attack. I know its maddening to have to trust that people in these positions with this access are not visible to the general public, but I will tell you there is STRONG internal policing to ensure people follow the rules. Still, there have been breaches of protocol (see good vs bad eggs) so it is a dilemma....just know, that the vast majority want to do right.

JeffSilvermanAMA190 karma

Complement the stats with technology skills. Your stats will help you tell your graphs what they should be doing, ie what regressions..etc, but you will need a tool to plot it and bring in large scale data sets. Understanding business (not high finance...but more like operations) will help you be able to then transfer your technical knowledge to actual insight.