Mal Fletcher comments on technology creep and it's consquences

The explosion in the power of computers has given rise to Big Data predictive analysis, allowing governments - and corporations - to uncover patterns within the vast amount of data they collect, particularly from mobile devices like phones and CCTV units.

This predictive use of technology has advantages. For example, it can help government economists track shifts in markets and, perhaps, better prepare for possible downturns.

It is useful in helping criminologists to track patterns in crime, allowing police and politicians to proactively respond to emerging problems.

Predictive analysis is valuable to town planners, as a means of identifying problems with traffic flow problems and the like.

If it is not properly regulated, however, the same technology can allow advertisers to pitch products to our mobile phones based upon a detailed knowledge of our buying habits and movements.

Police might also end up responding to crimes that haven't yet been committed.

Local authorities might launch new and tougher fines for things like parking infringements, based not on current statistics but solely on predictions.

The debate about whether people like Edward Snowdon are whistleblowers or traitors rages on.

Few people, however, will feel comfortable knowing that national agencies like GCHQ and the American NSA are able and willing to track their own digital conversations.

And the American Aviation Authority's recent announcement that 30,000 non-military drones will fill US skies before the end of the decade may not come as altogether good news either.

So ubiquitous will these airborne robots become that the Authority is looking to integrate them into existing aircraft flight patterns.

In the US alone, the Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) industry is forecast to expand in value from around $6 billion today, to $11 billion in 2021.

Whilst drones may prove a convenient means of delivery for booksellers like Amazon, and a great source of fun for hobbyists, they will also carry obvious challenges to privacy.

Data is money now. The problem is no longer solely who collects the information, but who buys it from there and how they choose to use it.