76

Are the savages on our doorstep? Big Data has suddenly appeared in the most unexpected spheres of activities. It is a field which is as mysterious for the non-initiated as it is exciting for those who see in it new economic areas to conquer. By changing the value created in companies of a purely technical nature to the management of customer relations, the few American giants which dominate the Big Data sector open the breaches by changing the rules of competition which weaken the companies which have long been established, threatening to change those who recently boasted about their technical success into mere subcontractors. Is it already too late? Clearly not, but one must urgently assess the economic and democratic issues and, more importantly, act proactively because no other strategy can protect us from the rising tide of Big Data.