It’s the wee hours of
the day and as I pass through the subway at Barakhamba , I often stand witness
to a tragic unfolding event. This dimly lit subway is a routine passage for everyday
commuters, hustling to meet their fast receding
deadlines. However not everyone seems to be in a hurry. There exists a family
of four here, who have made this passage
their home ; the so called home of the under-privileged, with a single wall to
rest besides and the temporary plastic sheets on which lays haphazard objects, epitomizing
the parched, abject poverty of the not
so unfortunate ones.
The exit of the subway opens up a new door to a new world,
not just literally but also metaphorically. In the night sky today, these posh
clubs and the happening casinos here, outshine everything else- a glaring contrast with the emptiness and
nothingness of the futile world, I witnessed moments before, as I walked past the subway tunnel. Is mankind so insensitive and alienated to the miseries of
fellow brethren, to allow the existence
of two sharply unequal worlds, a mere few meters apart? Can Data Science do nothing
about it? Is Data Science only a technological construct to be relegated to the
ivory towers of the corporate glitz? My answer would be in the negative.
Data Science is that beautiful science which could, and is already
impacting billions of lives all over the world. What existed as meaningless dumps
of hollow, useless data is being slowly transformed into rich, purposeful
insights. It is these predictive insights that allow us make decision trees and
action maps – slowly but surely a scientific procedure driven by data-driven
action agenda , would transform for the better, several lives, not just those group
of four that I regularly witness in my subway passages but their entire generations
to come. It is this inter-generational shift , which behooves the future of
Data Science.
Armed with visualizations and statistics ; cluster maps ,R and Python languages ; complemented with Big-Data and Social Media Analytics
, Cloud , Mobile and Ubiquitous computing ; along with Internet of things ,
Robotics and Artificial Intelligence – we can surely create a better world.
Data driven policies would not only be more precise in
meeting localized needs of poverty estimates but would also offer real-time , flexible,
adaptable, customized solutions for various multi-dimensional purposes – be it
faster, efficient surveys ; accurate and enriched computational models of
data-analysis ; facilitation of those ‘aggregation benefits’ and nudge-units of
Applied Behavioral / Functional interventions ; thematic clusters maps and decision models ;
qualitative and quantitative data plots throwing up scenarios , permutations
and combinations that previously didn’t seem to exist - and the list goes on.
Today, the world needs data-scientists to not just be
passive observers, reacting to changing scenarios but actively engage proactively
in solving problems here and now. If the data scientists of today, mobilize community
participants as citizen-scientists, volunteers – billions of lives around the
world could be lifted out of debilitating poverty ; interventions can be made
more specific thereby ensuring every Rupee spent reaches the intended
beneficiary; eliminating leakages of corruption and inefficiency; cities can be
made more safer and more resilient to
both natural and artificial disasters ; food can be more nutritious and
education more relevant to changing needs of the technocratic society; jobs can
be matched to skills and the aspirations of billions of youth made to fructify.
The hope that Data Science in the above discussion brings is
not exhaustive. There are countless possibilities that are ever increasing and
awaiting for someone, somewhere to realize their potential. In my opinion, if
there is any single technological solution that can dramatically alter the
fortunes for better, of that unprivileged,
impoverished family of four dwelling in the subway passage , it is only Data
Science ; for what petro-dollars can’t do , I believe Data Science can.
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