Bit of an in depth blog from me this month, however something has been brewing for a while around people’s continued lack of understanding around personal information and how this impacts individuals, especially in the online space. Whilst the majority of businesses are trying to do the right thing, the right thing can only be based on the level of knowledge that someone has, so hopefully this will go towards helping increasing everyone’s understanding.

All too often I hear that ‘I’m not bothered who has my personal information, as I have nothing to hide’

That is all very well, but those making this statement, often don’t truly understand the value of their personal information, and what it is being used for or could be in the right hands. There are many quotes floating around the internet such as:

‘Privacy is not an option it is a basic human right’ or  ‘Privacy is not a privilege granted to the aged or the young’

In 2021 the value of personal information has increased by 1,800% ( https://www.wearemiq.com/blog/value-of-personal-data/) so why is it so valuable and what are companies doing with it? Well some of the things are listed below:

·         Targeted advertising

·         Machine Learning & AI

·         Behaviour Insights

Now don’t get me wrong, I am all for using data in the correct way, however it is becoming more and more apparent that businesses and individuals don’t truly understand what information can be gleaned from personal information that is being collected. I will leave it up to others to argue the pros and cons of data collection and using it for the above reasons, though I do know that once people understand the true value of data in their business they typically want to protect it. The purpose of this blog is to bring this back to the real world where individuals are inadvertedly releasing information to the wider public without actually understanding the true consequences of what can actually be gleaned from this information (think AI which is always learning – but more about this later).

For those who have been following me for a while you will know that I have been undertaking my own human design experiment – looking at the teachings of Ra Ra Hu who combines astrology, the I Ching, Vedic Philosophy and the Kabbalah. The belief/thought process behind human design is that we are all unique and that our bodies are designed to utilise energy in a certain way. If we become more in line with our own uniqueness, as opposed to be a homogenised version (think how society tells us what is acceptable and how we should do well at school, study the same way pass tests, go to university, get a job, save for retirement and if we are lucky we can enjoy our retirement), then we move through life more easily and with less resistance whilst we go about finding and living our life’s purpose.

On socials this is a phenomenon that is blowing up, especially in the online coaching space and to be honest a lot of this resonates as making sense to me, as I feel everything in nature is too complex to be random, so it would make sense we are also designed in a certain way, however what is concerning is the lack of understanding as to how this information can be utilised to keep people stuck where they are and not put them on the path to understanding and developing themselves– even if this is their intention.

However, before I focus on Human Design – I will use an example of Astrology which is a key aspect of HD and how this can inadvertedly provide information that you may not actually be aware of yourself, to those who may or may not use it with the right intentions. Recently a friend said she had been asked by her Company Director what time she was born. She thought it was a strange question and didn’t respond, as she didn’t see the importance nor why it was any of their business. However, what was more concerning was that this Director was actually an Astrologer and when I explained that by knowing this information individuals who have the appropriate knowledge can glean a lot of information about an individual, that actually may go beyond what is required for work (data minimisation springs to mind). Whilst if it had been explained why this information would help both parties that is fine but like with a lot of things – if it puts someone at a distinct advantage over someone else it generally isn’t being used for good. And you can guarantee this wasn’t explained on the staff privacy policy!

So what can an Astrologer deduce from your date and time of birth, well they can determine what areas you are likely to excel at in a role at work, for example my chart shows that I am likely to have a career in finance and I have an ability to understand others insecurities especially when it comes to risk taking – couldn’t have said it better myself. It even goes so far to highlight where I will potentially have health issues – ‘Manage stress so you don’t have headaches’ is something that was written in a reading and this was provided by someone who didn’t know me or that there is a long history of headaches in my family.

So moving onto HD, I received a message the other day from a friend saying she had watched individuals giving live readings to potential clients on line. Now generally there is no issue with this as the individuals are consenting but when the potential clients name, date of birth and time of birth was being inputted so everyone online can see (and plugging this into the algorithm) it is slightly concerning that both parties don’t understand the potential impact or their responsibilities around this.

Let me give you an example….

Whilst most people are generally using this information for good, if I was a potential employer or someone who wanted to manipulate someone for my own advantage, I would know from this chart that this individual would make a great employee. They would want to get through their work as quickly as possible to not to feel any stress or pressure of a deadline. Which is great to understand, but with this information, would I continue to give this individual work knowing that they would get through it quickly again trying to get out from under pressure, or would I try and relief this pressure and not giving them so much to do and certainly not under tight timescales.

I know from personal experience I personally fell into the 1st category as an employee, and whilst I know my employer didn’t consciously give me more work as a manipulation tactic, it was something that I gravitated towards as it actually felt good to me that I could out work everyone else and that I could work so quickly.

Tie this into the fact that there is an area in my chart that would never turn work away - as I would carry on doing this in the hope that my work would be recognised and that I would get that promotion. I would never turn work away in case someone thought badly of me. On top of this I would continue to study with a view that one more qualification would make me good enough. The fact that I am a generator, I am literally designed to work, which means that I can continue working even when others have no energy, not that I knew this at the time but had someone understood this it would be an even better recipe for disaster for me.

We can also see what environment you flourish in, or not flourish in and how we best digest information and again whilst this stuff should be used for good – not everyone wants to empower people which is where we need to have more understanding.

So let me ask a question? would you actually want everyone to be able to glean this information about you i.e. total strangers? When you don’t even know this information about yourself, this puts you at a huge disadvantage. Yet this is what is possible when sharing this information online. A lot of individuals may be willing to provide the information in the hope that they will be provided with an answer but when there is no evident consideration about any data protection requirements around this you can pretty much guarantee that there is a lack of understanding around the wider compliance issues from the business and that a full disclosure of how they are using your information won’t be evidenced in a privacy policy – that is if they even have one!

This leads me onto the probably bigger issue with all these online businesses and coaches not actually being regulated. Whilst they have so often obtained the qualifications and they genuinely feel they are helping individuals learnings this information and removing limiting beliefs so that they may work for them as opposed to against them. When there is a basic lack of understanding of what the compliance requirements are around data, it  is very concerning. Obviously, there is a caveat to this as there are coaches that understand this, are highly qualified and ensure they are verified independently. They are very protective of their clients and the information that are sharing and it is great to see these setting the example of how it should be done.

Whilst regulation may be the way forward, I certainly feel that there needs to be more focus on evidencing understanding and also protection of those that are potentially vulnerable to being exploited. The financial services sector has been focusing on vulnerabilities for a while, as the impact of those vulnerable in the world of finance is far reaching and to be honest this has come along way since when it was first highlighted. For example - initially it was suggested that anyone other age 65 would be vulnerable, can you imagine telling a 65 year old that they are vulnerable! – thankfully our understanding has evolved a bit but what is concerning is that it has been suggested that the majority of clients within financial services are likely to have at least one driver of vulnerability (health, life events, resilience and capability). And if this is the case for financial services clients, I can pretty much bet that most individuals have a potential vulnerability driver yet this understanding this has yet to transfer onto the online space. As a result the vulnerabilities of some individuals are being exploited with the get rich quick schemes which unfortunately has incorporated an aspect of understanding your human design which will bring you more into alignment and as a result will bring more money, all whilst being non-compliant with the data regulations which apply to anyone collecting, using and storing personal information.

Another aspect of this is to understand how AI is developing. Again, I aren’t against AI as I believe it can help evolve humanity but when we are feeding it the correct information to learn, however without really understanding the consequences of this, then we will be the only ones to blame. If AI sees individuals being exploited via their vulnerabilities, how long will it be until it takes the Algorithm to target generators who want to know how to get out under pressure by working more effectively and quickly. When it targets our children to just do one more exam so they can be accepted and be deemed to be good enough, when we all know that being able to pass exams has no reflection of an individuals true intelligence, but this hasn’t been plugged into AI’s learning. This results in biases and our fears being compounded.

AI learning capability is already past our own, with the point of singularity (the time when it is expected that AI becomes self aware being predicted to be around 2045. It is evident that we aren’t in a position to teach our children the relevant things that they need to be aware of today (don’t get me started on the school system but Jim Kwik said it best – if Einstein woke up today the only thing he would recognise is the education system), how can we possibly teach AI how to navigate these issues?

As we evolve and our data becomes even more advanced, it is our responsibility to understand actually what can be done with the personal information we have or use. And truly understand the value of this information that we use and collect, not only to us a businesses but also as individuals. Without this understanding creates the ability to manipulate people and results in a lack of control of your life.

And in the words of Edward Snowdon - ‘Arguing that you don’t care about the right to privacy because you have nothing to hide is no different than saying you don’t care about free speech as you have nothing to say’. It’s our responsibility to understand and demonstrate our right to privacy so we can make educated decisions and not rely on others doing the right thing.

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Once we understand our data we become empowered about how we use it and how we protect it and the personal information of others we may have.