In the 2015 article “The Impact of Open Data in the UK: Complex, Unpredictable, and Political” Ben Worthy convincingly demonstrates how Open Data should be seen as a complex, unpredictable and political issue. Before this article, I honestly thought that access to government data could only lead to better things. In hindsight, this seems startlingly naïve – yet I think that even more knowledgeable proponents of open data can appreciate the nuances presented in the article regardless of whether they can provide a counter-argument.
The article’s format intuitively answered my questions as they came up: what are the downsides of Open Data? Who are the users? How does the media play a role? However, I think the point that hit me the most was that despite the fact that open data is portrayed to be neutral information; it can be used for very political purposes. Access to knowledge does have power, especially the power to manipulate information as you see fit. What I really get a sense of about Open data is how how tensions can be created between different levels or sections of government. I also thought one of the most interesting ideas that I would have liked to read more on was the section talking about how the relationship between accountability and transparency is very complex (796). I think this relationship could be easily expanded to another paper.
Finally, Worthy’s insights into ‘armchair auditors’ was very relevant to other topics of discussion in the class –specifically the fact that these people are not “ordinary” citizens but rather have a specialized repertoire of time, interest and skills (796). Overall, I think it is very difficult to get people to care that much about very specific issues unless it is part of their jobs or affects their lives in a direct and personal way. This has wider implications for other aspects of GIScience such as VGI.
-Vdev