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# How Will The Future Of Big Data Impact The Way We Work And Live?
- URL: https://www.thedigitalspeaker.com/will-future-big-data-impact-way-work-live/
- Published: 2015-07-24T00:52:29.000Z
- Updated: 2026-08-04T05:37:09.000Z
- Author: Dr Mark van Rijmenam, CSP
- Tags: Big Data

The semantic web, or web 3.0, is often quoted as the next phase of the Internet. In a previous post, I discussed the impact of [big data](https://www.thedigitalspeaker.com/big-data-speaker/) on the semantic web, and I mentioned that the semantic web would enable all humans as well as all internet connected devices to communicate with each other as well as share and re-use data in different forms across different applications and organizations in real-time. The future of big data takes full advantages of the semantic web, and it will have a vast impact on organisations and society.

Jason Hoffman, CTO of Joyent, [predicts](http://gigaom.com/2013/06/19/joyent-cto-the-convergence-of-data-and-compute-will-disrupt-global-profits/2/?ref=thedigitalspeaker.com) that the future of big data will be about the convergence of data, computing and networks. The PC was the convergence of the computing and networks, while the convergence of computing and data will enable analysis performed directly on Exabytes of raw data enabling ad hoc questions to be asked on extremely large data sets.

[Artificial intelligence](https://www.thedigitalspeaker.com/future-artificial-intelligence-global-perspective/) that will match human intelligence will allow us to ask questions and find answers more easily by simply asking natural questions to computers. Already Japanese scientists have built a super-computer that mimic the brain cell network and reached 1% of brain capacity. To achieve this that [simulated](http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/08/130802080237.htm?ref=thedigitalspeaker.com) a network consisting of 1.73 billion nerve cells connected by 10.4 trillion synapses. The process took 40 minutes, to complete the simulation of 1 second of neuronal network activity in real, biological, time. In the coming years, these super-computers will become the standard. At the moment, users still need to know what you want to know, but in a future, with such super-computers, it is all about the things that you don’t [know](http://www.joyent.com/blog/the-future-of-big-data-is-asking-dumb-questions?ref=thedigitalspeaker.com).

The real benefits will be when organizations do not have to ask questions anymore to obtain answers, but simply find the answer to a question they could never have thought of. Advanced pattern discovery and categorization of patterns will enable algorithms to perform the decision making for organizations. Extensive and beautiful visualizations will become more important and help organizations understand the brontobytes of data.

Big data scientists will be in very high demand in the coming decades, as [McKinsey](http://www.mckinsey.com/insights/business%5Ftechnology/big%5Fdata%5Fthe%5Fnext%5Ffrontier%5Ffor%5Finnovation?ref=thedigitalspeaker.com) also predicted in 2011 already. The real winners in the big data startup field, however, will be those companies that can make big data so easy to understand, implement and use that big data scientists are not necessary anymore. Large corporations will always employ big data scientists, but the much large market of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises do not have the money to hire expensive big data scientists or analysts. Those big data startups that enable big data for SME’s without the need to hire big data experts will have a huge competitive advantage.

The algorithms developed by those big data startups will become ever smarter, smartphones will become better, and in the future, anyone will have a supercomputer in its pocket that can perform daunting computing tasks in real-time and visualize it on the small screen in your hand. And with the [Internet of Things](https://www.thedigitalspeaker.com/iot-speaker/) and trillions of sensors, the amount of data that needs to be processed by these devices will grow exponentially.

Big data will only become bigger, and brontobytes will become the common language in the boardroom. Fortunately, data storage will also become more widely available as well as cheaper to cope with the vast amount of data. Brontobytes of data will become so common in boardrooms, that eventually the term big data will disappear again and big data will become just data again.

However, before we have reached that stage, the growing amount of data that is processed by companies and governments will create a privacy concern. Those organizations that stick to the self-regulating. The problem will be however with the governments as citizens cannot simply move away from their government. Large public debates about the effects of big data on consumer privacy will be inevitable, and together we have to ensure that we do not end-up in Minority Report 2.0 or a ‘1984-setting’.

The future of big data is still unsure, as the big data era is still unfolding, but it is clear that the changes ahead of us will transform organizations and societies.[ Big data is here to stay](https://www.thedigitalspeaker.com/prescriptive-analytics-future-big-data/), and organizations will have to adapt to the new paradigm. The organization might be able to postpone their big data strategy a little bit, but we have seen that organizations that already have implemented a big data strategy, do outperform their peers. Therefore, start developing your big data strategy, as there is no time to waste if your organization also wants to provide products and services in the upcoming big data era.

*Image: zeber/Shutterstock*

## Frequently asked questions

### What is the semantic web and how does it relate to big data?

The semantic web, also called web 3.0, enables all humans and internet-connected devices to communicate with each other and share and re-use data in different forms across different applications and organizations in real-time. The future of big data takes full advantage of this semantic web, and together they will have a vast impact on organisations and society.

[Link to this question](#faq-what-is-the-semantic-web-and-how-does-it-relate-to-big-data)

### How will artificial intelligence change the way we find answers using data?

Artificial intelligence matching human intelligence will let people ask natural questions to computers rather than needing to know exactly what to search for. Advanced pattern discovery and categorization will allow algorithms to perform decision making for organizations, so the real benefit becomes finding answers to questions organizations could never have thought to ask.

[Link to this question](#faq-how-will-artificial-intelligence-change-the-way-we-find)

### Will companies still need big data scientists in the future?

Big data scientists will be in very high demand in the coming decades, but the real winners will be big data startups that make big data easy enough to understand, implement and use that scientists are no longer necessary. This matters especially for small and medium-sized enterprises that cannot afford expensive analysts, giving startups serving them a major competitive advantage.

[Link to this question](#faq-will-companies-still-need-big-data-scientists-in-the-future)

### What privacy concerns come with the growth of big data?

As companies and governments process ever-growing amounts of data, privacy concerns will intensify. This is especially problematic with governments, since citizens cannot simply move away from their government the way they might avoid a company. Large public debates about big data's effects on consumer privacy are inevitable, aiming to avoid a Minority Report or 1984-style surveillance society.

[Link to this question](#faq-what-privacy-concerns-come-with-the-growth-of-big-data)