Prediction and Postdiction: Real-time data mining and data analytics

In this chapter, I focus on data-mining and data analytics. It is obvious that without integrated databases set up for collecting, collating, managing and disseminating data derived from various identification, monitoring and surveillance systems, all efforts in this direction would be in vain – which is why we need to discuss such computerized databases first. But databases are just the beginning: nowadays, computers can tap into the World Wide Web to proactively search all kinds of social media including listen in on phone calls to detect suspicious behaviour, to profile individual terrorists or suspects. This process is known as data mining and acquisition, and similar to what many private companies such as Google or Facebook routinely do ways as well. I argue that currently, the ‘holy grail’ of data-mining and acquisition is to be able to do so in real time, while ‘it’ happens. With a discussion of this current cutting edge of research and the implications for our civil liberties, I conclude this chapter.