Reuben Binns

Reuben is a PhD researcher at the University of Southampton, a member of the Web and Internet Science Research Group, conducting interdisciplinary research between the Faculty of Business and Law, and the Department of Electronics and Computer Science. His research interests include ethical and legal aspects of personal data, open data, and information governance. He holds an MSc and BA from the University of Cambridge.

In week 3 of the MOOC we covered how personal data is used in digital marketing, and some alternative ways which give consumers themselves some control over the construction of their profiles. A lively and engaging discussion took place around the content. Some agreed that behavioural targeting could end up being 'creepy' if it gets too accurate, much like the 'uncanny valley' hypothesis in robotics. The idea of self-created consumer profiles proved controversial. Continue reading →