The Gettysburg Address is considered one of the greatest political speeches in history, detailing America’s challenges and paying tribute to the men who died fighting in the face of those challenges. In his speech, Lincoln advocates the words of the Declaration of Independence, emphasizing the principles of human equality and that the war was not only a means to preserve the union but also a new beginning of freedom for all Americans. He continues by honoring those who died so “that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.” They fought for a better quality of life and the freedoms they deserved. As Selim Jahan said, Human development is the “development of the people, for the people, and by the people.” To understand development, we must understand how people’s lives are affected by the change and we must consider the quality of those individual lives. Statistically speaking, data shows that the world is getting healthier and living longer than ever before. However, the increase in the quality of those lives has not been significant. Those last few years are often followed by illnesses and disabilities. By understanding the quality of life, we can come up with better solutions. In this way, data science plays a large role in advancing the human condition, extracting information from an ocean of data to help and advance the quality of our lives, and predicting future trends.
On the other hand, data science has its limits. As mentioned in Blumenstock’s article, “Don’t forget people in the use of big data for development,” data often excludes a vast majority of people, often those who need its help the most. People in poverty in developing countries are left behind and their exclusion in data and research holds us back from true development and growth. With their lack of infrastructure and limited data, developing nations often struggle to find success. For this reason, it’s imperative that we have those with first-hand experiences making these predictions, rather than just computer scientists and statisticians, but those who truly understand the unfreedoms faced in developing areas. As complex as data science is, humans are vastly more complex. And to understand human development and the world’s most pressing issues, we must understand the complexities of humans and why they are the way they are. As Amartya Sen says, human development is founded on freedom and not on economic wealth. Wealth and income are only desirable because of the freedoms they offer. However, they are not equal to happiness or health. In order to advance human development, we must expand human freedom. As Sen says, it is “the enhancement of freedoms that allow people to lead lives that they have reason to live”.