As people recognize and understand the financial value of their data, they could make different choices about what they share and with whom.
Then again, if people who chose not to share their data had to pay for a service that others get for free, perhaps opting out would become something only the relatively well-off could afford. Privacy would be the greatest form of luxury.
The possibility that a new privacy paradigm will emerge, and the challenges and opportunities this could create, is one of the deep social fissures we’re exploring in our FutureConsumer.Now program.
How EY can help
Commercial Transformation
EY’s Commercial Transformation offering can help your organization reignite growth while optimizing sales and marketing investments and returns, enabled by realistic and implementable growth strategy, advanced commercial analytics and differentiated capability deployment.
Read moreDoes it matter to consumers how their data is used, as long as they benefit from that use?
In the future world we modeled, new technologies would make consumers more aware of the specific value of their data, and better able to control this value. Their relationship with brands and the media/entertainment industry would change, as they became significant creators of valuable content – rather than just consumers of content.
In a very different world modeled by a team at our London hack, data and influence reshaped the relationship between consumers and brands. It was something they traded, with incentives and rewards for both sides. This data sharing was governed and controlled by AI ‘confidantes’ – a super-smart evolution from the voice-controlled helpers that sit in on many kitchen counters today. In this world, they become so attuned to the needs of their ‘owner’ that they intuitively decide when to share and what to share in exchange for returns that the owner will value.
Summary
As consumers become more aware of how companies collect and use their personal data, attitudes about what they share and what they expect in return will change.