Much of the talk surrounding Big Data relates to its benefits, and to be sure, Big Data has the potential to provide big boosts for all companies and organizations looking to use it. Big Data, however, brings with it lots of questions over how it is currently being used and how it will be used in the future. We’re in the middle of a technological revolution the likes of which we haven’t seen since the introduction of the internet. All sorts of organizations are swamped with information about everything from customers to weather patterns. The amount of data now being generated on a daily basis is astounding, but the implications are still not quite understood. Data can be useful, but what happens when organizations know almost everything there is about you? Could Big Data eventually lead to others having too much control over our lives?

It’s important to understand that most businesses see information as power. The more they know about their customers, the more effective they can become in getting them to buy their products or services. That means businesses have started creating vast databases about the people who closely associate and those who may become customers in the future. Have you ever bought something off of Amazon? More than likely Amazon has plenty of data about you and your buying habits. Do you use a credit card? Your credit card company knows all about what stores you frequent and where you shop online.

From a business standpoint, all this data stands to make their jobs easier, but what happens when that data is used to control the behavior of others? As the old saying goes, “power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” Having so much data about private individuals could easily lead to an attempt by businesses to influence our actions in ways we may not have thought of before.

In some instances, this is already happening. Companies have taken to monitoring their employee’s actions at every moment of every day. This includes monitoring emails, calls, text messages on company phones, and other forms of communication. Using Big Data Analytics, the organizations can determine all sorts of behavioral traits that might come up in a performance review. For example, if an employee uses passive-aggressive behavior in his or her emails, that might be counted against them later on. Even a few minutes browsing Facebook at the end of the day could end up hurting a worker at companies where such monitoring practices are instituted.

Government surveillance of its citizens continues to be a contentious topic for many around the world. Online communications or those made from smartphones and other mobile devices are often the subject of scrutiny as governments collect data on private citizens, even if no wrongdoing is in question. Even social media posts can be the target of social listening techniques, leading many to question what organizations are intending to use with this data.

But if this all seems a bit overwhelming, the influence big data has is only going to get bigger with the rise of the Internet of Things (IoT). When that happens, every object we use, from our clothing to our appliances, will have sensors in them, sending data to databases all over the world. That means nearly every aspect of our lives will be recorded, from the places we visit to the people we talk to. There will be very little about our activities that won’t be known in some capacity. How governments, businesses, and other institutions use that data is still up in the air. Will that mean outside parties being able to exert more control over what we do? It remains to be seen, but as the IoT comes to fruition, matters about privacy are only going to grow more intense.

Some serious questions need to be asked regarding the Big Data challenges we as a society will be facing. The benefits that can come from Big Data, from medical breakthroughs to more efficient cities, should certainly not be discounted. A balance needs to be created, one that respects the privacy of individuals while still reaching big data’s potential. It won’t be an easy solution to come to, but it will end up serving everyone’s needs in the end.