Nine Fears About the Future of Data & Technology
Nine Fears About the Future of Data & Technology
https://www.edelman.com/insights/nine-fears-future-data-technology
Publish Date: 2026-06-09 05:25:00
Source Domain: www.edelman.com
Edelman and The University of Cambridge Psychometrics Centre have carried out the largest study in history of public’s vs marketers’ perception of predictive data & technology
Brands are at severe risk of overestimating consumers’ trust in and willingness to adopt predictive technologies, according to a new report from Edelman and The University of Cambridge Psychometrics Centre. ‘Trust and Predictive Technologies 2016’, is the largest study of its kind ever conducted, and surveyed more than 34,000 people around the world, and found that 71 percent of consumers believe brands with access to their personal data are using it unethically. Seventy eight percent of the public also view the threat of negative media coverage as an insufficient deterrent to prevent businesses from misusing personal data. These concerns stand in stark contrast to the 94 per cent of marketing professionals who say predictive technology is important for them to understand the psychological attributes of their customers.
The Key Findings
1. Fears relating to privacy are consistent across age, gender, country and personality Psycho-demographic variables explain less than two percent of the variance between yes and no answers to questions about uses of Big Data. Privacy is a universal concern, not an esoteric interest.
2. There is a deep lack of trust in data-driven businesses and in government 71 percent of people thought most companies with access to their personal data did not use it ethically; only 26 percent of people trust the government not to sell their electoral roll and demographic data without their consent.
3. Marketers are at serious risk of overestimating how comfortable consumers are with predictive technology Across sectors, marketing professionals were consistently more knowledgeable and more open to sharing data for prediction than the general public. This reveals a clear need for companies to better communicate their data practices, or…
