Ms Myra Cheng1, Dr Richard Ferrers
1Australian Research Data Commons, Canberra, Australia
“[D]ata is the future … Data is the new oil! This is mostly nonsense.” Benedict Evans (2022)
Readers who attended last year’s eResearch Australasia 2021 will likely recall seeing a speaker on their zoom screen wearing a T-shirt with the slogan, “Data is the New Bacon.” This slogan is a playful revision of Clive Humby’s claim that “Data is the New Oil” from 2006. More than a decade later, Humby’s metaphor continues to circulate widely. For example, in a recent article published in the Australian Financial Review, the authors wrote,
Clive Humby’s statement that “data is the new oil” still rings true and Australia is well-suited to take full advantage of this – if we invest wisely.
Though Humby’s metaphor has been popular in the media, it has also been a source of discontent amongst his critics including the independent analyst, Benedict Evans. Evans’ commentary draws upon the work of his colleague, Tim O’Reilly, who claimed that “data is the New Sand.” In this paper, we examine the public controversy surrounding prominent metaphors casting data as the “New Oil” and the “New Sand.” We ask what exactly is data and is it only valuable when aggregated? Should we pay heed to criticisms of Humby’s metaphor, particularly when making investment decisions? Furthermore, how should we go about conceptualizing data and selecting our metaphors at a time when data-driven science is regarded as an essential means by which some of the major problems of our contemporary world can be addressed and solved?
Biography:
Prior to joining the ARDC, Myra worked as a librarian at Boston University (Sydney Campus) and held the role of Research Administration Officer at Save Sight Registries (SSR), an international ophthalmic registry based at the Sydney Eye Hospital.
Richard is an institutional liaison, supporting universities and other partners in Victoria, Tasmania and ACT. He works with communities including Trusted Data Repositories, Tech Talk, and state-based Data Roundtables. Special interests: value of data, trusted data, user adoption – value stories.