Welcome to the Human Data Economy 迎接人类数据经济时代

Over 700 million people use wearable technology like smartwatches， fitness bands and medical devices. These consumers create extremely valuable data from their daily lives—sleeping， working， sweating and everything in between. Consumers currently pay companies huge sums of money for access to technology as part of an industry， and every time consumers use wearable devices， they’re giving away their personal data for free. Ironically， companies then use this data to create more products they sell back to consumers， and the cycle repeats.

However， instead of paying for smart devices and allowing manufacturers free， full access to their information， what if they paid consumers instead？ A new asset class is emerging—human health data—that is generating significant value for companies by fueling the health analytics they provide， with consumers largely unaware their data is becoming a capital asset1 in high demand. And this archaic2 model for value creation is about to be flipped on its head3.

Welcome to the Human Data Economy， where consumers will soon be able to monetize4 their health information and take control over how， where and when their data is used. Similar to influencers like the YouTube and TikTok stars of today， an entirely new group of content creators—data creators—will emerge. Data creators， which can be anyone from professional athletes to casual consumers， will generate Human Data from wearable devices and other systems and choose to voluntarily share their information with interested parties.

The market for Human Data that can power systems to better understand our bodies， provide personalized treatments and predict future health outcomes is immense. In health care alone， the analytics market is expected to reach over $67 billion by 2025， while the telehealth market is expected to reach over $559 billion and the health care insurance market $4 trillion by 2027. Growth is largely driven by user-generated health data， thus creating significant opportunities for data creators to monetize their information.

Although artificial intelligence and statistical-based tools are in the early days of powering a Human Data-centered economy， they are rapidly advancing. Machine learning models are being developed in order to collect data from multiple sources to learn about individuals and help improve their health. New AI-based techniques are demonstrating the potential to generate insights based on users’ activities， physiology5， genetic profile， genomics6， blood， sweat and tears7 （pun intended） that will predict future health risks and outcomes， including heart disease and stroke. For these tools to develop further， quality data is essential. It is improving fast， as higher-sampling sensors can provide better and more granular8 data in every area of users’ lives—sleep， fitness， you name it.

However， we aren’t quite there yet. For starters， many sensors （like your smartwatch） have only proved their effectiveness in limited environments （e.g.， sleeping） while falling short in both accuracy and repeatability9 for other activities （e.g.， high-activity workouts）. Collecting large datasets is also challenging. Data creators often do not provide their full profile information， nor do they maintain the regimen10 of documenting their daily lives. This lack of contextual information leads to incomplete datasets. Companies also oftentimes eschew data-sharing， which leads to silos of know-ledge and prevents important advances in research and discovery.

But we’re getting there. To continue this evolution， analytics systems need good， categorized data—and lots of it—which is why a monetization-based access model could explode industry growth. Enabling data creators to provide companies with access to their personal data in exchange for compensation can allow companies to request exactly what data they’re looking for and from whom. This should expedite the collection of the right data in the right quantities to make products and research better targeted and more valuable. Companies could also demand a higher degree of data quality and eliminate “garbage-in， garbage-out11” scenarios often caused by the misuse of wearable tech by casual users. Human Data could also become more widely available to organizations that can unlock its value.

Research published by BMC12 Public Health found that a majority of consumers are willing to wear digital devices and share their data if they’re given financial incentives， including with their health insurers. We have recently experienced this in sports， and in medicine， volunteers are already provided financial incentives for participation in clinical trials and other research.

While explicit consent and control over information distribution should alleviate many privacy concerns， thoughtful approaches are needed to overcome existing challenges. These include obtaining ethically sourced data （e.g.， from known， consenting sources without modification）， preventing unauthorized data sharing or use， transitioning current wearable systems to enable customer data access， and current health data regulations. These barriers will necessitate clear， legally supported rules of engagement between technology organizations， regulators and data creators in order to develop consumer confidence， enable further transparency and build trust.