How Can Data Science Be a Game Changer in Politics?

Robin
Jul 11, 2018

I might sound like a goofy if I would have talked about the data science three or four decades ago. But, do you know that it’s a substitute of computer science?

Exactly three decades ago, only computer science was in the circular. It was Peter Naur in 1974 who coined the term data science for the first time in the Concise Surveys of Computer Methods. Subsequently, the data science became an inseparable part of the transformation.

Today, every change in the corporate world routes from the data science. The data analysts bounce off exclusive ideas to tap the untraced sales and purchase patterns. So, you would find is a hard place to live in this eCommerce world.

It’s not the commerce world but also the politics that is deriving value out of the raw data. I’ve not heard it from the grapevine. You can trace the fact in it by catching an intensive look into the controversial bulletin. The Cambridge Analytica is at the core of that controversy. But if you look into positive side, you’ll exclaim, “WOW! Data-driven insight can also be a game changer.”

But, the foremost question is what the data science is. Here is its definition.

Data Science:

It’s a data-driven science, according to the Wikipedia. And, it actually is the same. The brainers of this data field employ scientific methods, processes, algorithms and systems. These methods, together, unearth the true insight into various forms. The data scientists will bleed it in today’s popular culture but, with a different name, that is data mining.

In the nutshell, you can call it a concept of extracting viable decisions out of unifying statistics, data analysis, machine learning and their related techniques.

Let’s move to know what the Cambridge Analytica had done is a pure wonder of the data science.

Breakthrough via Real-Time Data Analysis: Cambridge Analytica

A British data analytics firm Cambridge Analytica displayed a breakthrough. It unfolded the fact that data science can empower any political entity to lead ahead of curve. The son of a politician KC Tyagi created a master plan to let Donald Trump win in the US election held in 2016.

The OBI (Oveleno Business Intelligence) head Amrish Tyagi confirmed in an interview that he has been bringing the back-staged politicians at the front foot since 2010 using mobiles. According to him, alone India has 60 crore social media users. These headcounts are good enough to approach and hook to a mobile campaign. With the mobile messaging, one can create a mass opinion. This messaging has quicker result than those of speeches, banners and posters.

His team came with an implication for the Trump. His daughter-in-law accepted the suggestion and celebrated Diwali at a Hindu Temple in Virginia. These ordinary happenings became extra-ordinary when these were highlighted and circulated via mobile messaging. The public opinion was moulded in favour of Trump. As a result, he won.