The Human Face of Big Data: Rick Smolan at TEDxMidwest

Rick Smolan is a Time, Life, National Geographic photo journalist and creator of the wildly popular "Day In The Life" photo book series. Smolan offers the audience a highly informative look at the amount of data generated from various sources each day, how such an enormous amount of information impacts our lives and who's controlling it.

Rick Smolan, a former Time, Life and National Geographic photographer and the creative force behind the popular Day in the Life photo book series, has a curiosity about the world matched only by a fearlessness and massive projects. His latest project, The Human Face of Big Data, explores how mass aggregation of digital information is changing our world. It sold out its first day on Amazon. While the threat of surveillance lurks in the "digital exhaust" left by every keystroke, or collective digital data can also be used to predict earthquakes, help eradicate disease and combat climate change. Rick is a previous TED speaker.

In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)