IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2015 - 80

Last Word
Christine Perakslis

Father's Day Algorithms
or Malgorithms?
y friend Rich was 25
years old when he
buried his 20-year
old father. His dad,
a green beret, was
classified as missing in action for
years until his remains were finally
returned to a son who longed to
honor his hero. The son never experienced the joy of sharing a father's
day with the man he venerates. Yet,
there exists a tangible fragment of
history: a cassette tape that captures this young serviceman's sentiments recorded to honor his dad
for Father's Day. The tape is a treasure; it delivers an audible vestige
of what seemed like a loving fatherson relationship between Rich's dad
and grandfather.
Perhaps in such scenarios, a son
like Rich may wish for far more than
a low-quality cassette recorded at
one point in time. We could imagine
a child might yearn for an extensive digital autobiography to better
know the life of his progenitor. Tech-

Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/MTS.2015.2425611
Date of publication: 19 June 2015

nologies like lifelogging and quantified self (QS) can brilliantly inform
progeny about what their ancestors
did, with whom, and where. Before
long, offspring may better understand emotional sentiments of their
wearing and bearing predecessors
as researchers are developing quantification of emotions through such
technology as biosensors[1].
When listening to the tape, one
is not only moved by the affection
of the young serviceman, but also
disturbed by what sounds like emotional angst. The tape had a portentous quality; the serviceman's last
words eerily presaged his demise. If
we had quantified his physiological
indicators, we might've seen data
cataloguing extremely intense psychological anguish. If QS data from
biosensors were available to capture
such emotions, could a recorded
treasure, with these wonderfully
shared sentiments, be turned into a
curse for a family? Might the pain be
excessively injurious for a parent's
psyche? Research shows that peering into another's life through far
more innocuous tools such as social

IEEE Technology and Society Magazine

media can have a negative psychological effect on observers [2]; how
much more so if algorithms unlock
piercingly weighty data? The threshold of sufferance or exploration varies greatly for various personalities.
Perhaps some data may bring pleasure; yet some data may be far too
heavy burden to bear.

Author Information
Christine Perakslis is Associate Professor in the MBA Program, College
of Management, Johnson & Wales
University, Providence, RI. Email:
christine.perakslis@jwu.edu.

References
[1] S. Amyx, "Wearables gushing with emotions: A new brand-engagement architecture," IEEE Consumer Electronics Mag.,
vol. 4, no. 1, pp. 87-89, 2015.
[2] ENISA, "To log or not to log?: Risks and
benefits of emerging life-logging applications," in European Network and Information Security Agency, E.N.a.I.S. Agency,
Ed.: A European Agency, Final Rep., Jul. 6,
2013 [Online]. Available http://www.enisa.
europa.eu/activities/risk-management/
emerging-and-future-risk/deliverables/lifelogging-risk-assessment/to-log-or-not-to-logrisks-and-benefits-of-emerging-life-loggingapplications.

∕

june 2015

http://www.enisa http://www.europa.eu/activities/risk-management/

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2015