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Tim Harford explains the numbers and statistics in the news and in life

Tim Harford explains the numbers and statistics in the news and in life.

More Or Less

More or Less: Can big data save lives?

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Can big data save lives?

22/03/2013

BBC World Service - More or Less, Can big data save lives?

Ruth Alexander speaks to Kenneth Cukier about how data can be used.

Our everyday lives generate around 2.5 quintillion bytes of data according to IBM. So could we be using this daily avalanche of statistics to make our lives better?

In More or Less Ruth Alexander explains - and sometimes debunks - the numbers and statistics used in political debate, the news and everyday life. This week we ask - our everyday lives generate around 2.5 quintillion bytes of data according to IBM. So could we be using this daily avalanche of statistics to make our lives better? Ruth Alexander talks to Kenneth Cukier, the data editor of the Economist magazine, and co-author of Big Data – A revolution that will transform how we work live and think - about how it can be used, if it could save lives, and the darker side of big data. 

(Image: A technician assembles computers Credit: AFP/Getty Images)

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