The Mega Shift from Data Privacy to Citizen Ownership Picks Up Steam

Silicon Valley’s DrumWave is designing and developing the rails for a new data economy that will enable people and businesses to have full autonomy over their data and generate value from it. Data Futurist Michael Clark has joined the company’s quest to create a “currency of you” as its newest Advisory Board member.

DrumWave CEO and Founder André Vellozo and a growing list of advisors who are tech-industry legends believe there is a major new megacycle before us that will transform our world from being data-poor to data-rich. They see that everything we do, or don’t, generates value and data. “As constant as water or electricity in this new economy, our data will be common and accessible to be exchanged, valued, and do a world of good,” said Vellozo.

The Silicon Valley company is developing a growing number of patented data valuation algorithms, APIs, data apps, and tools that will soon be available to the public as the world’s first data wallet (dWallet™) platform and data savings accounts. They will launch later this year. Those new offerings — combined with a curated set of data agents, including major financial institutions around the world — will provide ongoing monetary value for users. It will also provide a way for brands and businesses to gain access to our collective data by paying citizens who opt-in to exchange their data for purposes they believe in.

It’s a big vision and one that requires a “social license to operate,” says Vellozo, who was born and raised in Brazil. To that end, DrumWave has provided input on a new regulatory framework called the Data Empowerment Act that is currently being considered by Brazil’s congress to provide a data dividend or pension for Brazilians who choose to share their personal data in return for monetary value.

A similar concept for a “new data dividend” for all Californians to get paid for their digital data was championed by California Governor Gavin Newsom during a “State of the State” address in February 2019. Later that same year, DrumWave was invited to testify at the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs about the new concept of personal data ownership.

Michael Clark Joins DrumWave’s Advisory Board

Earlier this week, Data Futurist Michael Clark joined DrumWave’s Global Advisory Board to advance the data ownership rights movement. Clark, who currently serves as the Head of Global Digital Transformation and Futurist at Mastercard based in Dubai, will add his visionary insights and strategic acumen to help DrumWave achieve its pioneering 2024 roadmap.

In Clark’s upcoming book “Data Revolution, the New Currency of You,” he not only advocates for the significance of the data economy but actively defines a new narrative. With AI transforming our society, Clark explains that data is not just our most valuable asset; it is also the key to unlocking AI’s full potential.

“With the advent of data ownership rights, the future will be formed by ground-breaking business and technology developments,” said Clark. “This new data economy will hasten a society distinguished by boundless possibilities, and extraordinary opportunities that result from individuals owning their stories, memories, data, and, most importantly, their value.”

The ability for people to “cash in” on their data will do a world of good. When AI is paired with a curated, opt-in pool of our collective data within a more transparent, regulated framework, it will build more trust in the data that powers AI systems. The other benefits produced by this curated data combined with AI are less biases, increased audit-ability, and data that adds more specificity for the task at hand, according to Clark.

Other members of DrumWave’s global advisory board include: Brett King, a best-selling book author, banking and fintech futurist, and co-founder of the first U.S. mobile neo-bank Moven; Lawrence Levy who served alongside Steve Jobs as the CFO and board member at Pixar Animation Studios; and Scott McNealy, the CEO and co-founder of Sun Microsystems.

The Unrestricted Use of Our Personal Data Is Ending

In an editorial guest post originally published by TechCrunch, Vellozo and DrumWave Advisor Brett King describe the next tech megacycle in this context:

“Like the classic advice ‘follow the money,’ the last major tech shifts from computing, telephony, internet, and mobile advances have evolved in parallel to more advanced payment methods that helped consumers and businesses capitalize on them. The world is shifting from software to data — the lifeblood of training AI.”

“There’s a brewing “cog in the wheel” for Big Tech companies and others — from biotech and healthcare innovators to large banks, big brands and their marketing agencies, and even governments — as the mostly free access to our collective personal data will likely dry up by the late 2020s: The same data that powers our AI systems that we collectively produce in droves needs to be monetized, monitored, and curated.”

“Importantly the next megacycle in which AI is powered by personal data that we collectively control will quickly create a much bigger pie for everyone to profit from and thrive together in the future. That’s how we accelerate into the next big thing that lies ahead, and a world where data given with consent ensures trust and participation in our institutions.”