DailyPost 2984
GOOGLE MAPS – PUBLIC PRIVATE COLLABORATION
Google Maps transformed road navigation totally and globally is the reality. It has been maturing over the years, by way of the algorithm that runs and the quantum of data which is generated by users, ceaselessly day in and day out. It tries work on the intelligence it keeps on creating and is able to provide us precise navigation data; dynamic and real time. All of us have started believing that it is the perfect tool and there is no need for any additional information. The reliability is to an extent that we are not ready even to see the road conditions outside.
Most tech tools have imperfections and this is no different. The millions of scenarios it faces globally and gives solutions to it depending on data input and the algorithm enabled intelligence. It is a free tool and that in some manner dilutes the accountability part of it. There are no laws globally getting into the input and output control of the software and the processing that goes into it. At the end of the day it remains a black box technology, its highest level of utility notwithstanding. The recent news of three persons getting killed after Google Maps leads to an unfinished flyover in Uttar Pradesh.
As expected, that accident has raised questions about the infrastructure safety and the reliability of navigation apps. The car plunged off an under construction flyover into the Ramganga river. Caution is the key but how can that happen when the driver’s mind has been sold out to Google Maps reliability. How does Google Maps update its data, from where are data points sourced and what are the methods of validation, more so in less used routes. User data is certainly one of the major inputs. Are all the processes and the output legally validated and cleared? It seems that Google Maps sources data from all relevant sources where it can lay its hands on.
Integrity of data in real time, anywhere and everywhere, true to the ground realities is the challenge. No one knows if any municipal bodies / governments have any data sharing mechanism with local maps. The physical part is even more intriguing; that is the total lack of safety measures. “Why was the bridge left incomplete without proper barricades to warn motorists?” Killer negligence. There is a barrage of questions for the authorities who constructed the bridge and are in charge of its maintenance and usage. When Google Maps is an all pervasive navigation tool and road authorities / local administration have all the official information, why has no legal collaboration been established? The user will always remain the victim and accountable stakeholders will keep escaping.
IN THE DATA AGE PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP OF DATA IN REAL TIME FOR PUBLIC GOOD IS A MUST.
Sanjay Sahay
Have a nice evening.