Auctions, traffic, selfishness, and data privacy: It all comes down to math
Tuesday, November 8, 2011 - 05:30
in Mathematics & Economics
Every time you run a Google search, a split-second automated auction takes place to determine which of many competing companies will get to fill the ad space in your browsing window. The program controlling that auction is designed to fulfill a specific set of goals that probably differ from the goals of the individual companies. Similarly, your motivation during your morning commute is unlikely to be maintaining the overall flow of freeway traffic, and when you give a hospital your personal information, you're probably not trying to improve their data analysis.