馬克·戈?duì)査够? 譯/陳棟 Mark Gorski

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， theyre 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 arent 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 were 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 theyre 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 theyre 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.

In the emerging Human Data Economy， sensor technologies and other products should improve as access to data increases. Users who are unable to afford wearables may have them provided at no cost. New types of revenue models and businesses will emerge， including data agents who can help manage and monetize your data. Technol-ogies that can broker， track， and enforce data sharing agreements between data creators， technologies and acquirers will become the next unicorns.

This all suggests that were reaching a tipping point13 where the value of data created from wearables is exceeding the value of the wearables themselves. It will continue to accelerate as data creators use their newly controllable assets to enrich their social environment by sharing their generated content. By widening the availability of Human Data and broadening the appeal of its use—from livestreaming biometric data in workout classes to viewing sponsored， on-screen stress levels of reality show contestants—todays consumers will become tomorrows data creators with rights to control， share and monetize their information. Concurrently， this data will advance our collective understanding of the human body while fostering more transparency and creating an entirely new economic proposition.

Welcome to the Human Data Economy.

使用智能手表、健康手環(huán)和醫(yī)療設(shè)備等可穿戴技術(shù)產(chǎn)品的人超過(guò)7億。這些用戶在日常生活中創(chuàng)造出極具價(jià)值的數(shù)據(jù)——不管是睡覺(jué)、工作、出汗，還是干其他事的時(shí)候。作為產(chǎn)業(yè)的一部分，現(xiàn)在用戶使用技術(shù)產(chǎn)品需向企業(yè)支付高昂的費(fèi)用，而且用戶每次使用可穿戴設(shè)備，都在免費(fèi)貢獻(xiàn)自己的個(gè)人數(shù)據(jù)。諷刺的是，企業(yè)之后又用這些數(shù)據(jù)創(chuàng)造出更多的產(chǎn)品賣給用戶，如此循環(huán)往復(fù)。

但是，如果是制造商付錢給用戶，而不是用戶花錢購(gòu)買智能設(shè)備并允許制造商免費(fèi)訪問(wèn)他們的全部信息，那會(huì)怎么樣？一種新的資產(chǎn)品類正在浮現(xiàn)，即健康數(shù)據(jù)，它能提升企業(yè)的健康分析服務(wù)，給企業(yè)創(chuàng)造巨大價(jià)值，而大多數(shù)用戶并未意識(shí)到自己的數(shù)據(jù)正在成為一項(xiàng)緊俏的資本資產(chǎn)。這種陳舊的價(jià)值生產(chǎn)模式即將發(fā)生翻天覆地的變化。

歡迎來(lái)到人類數(shù)據(jù)經(jīng)濟(jì)時(shí)代。在這里，用戶即將能用自己的健康信息賺錢，并有權(quán)決定自己的數(shù)據(jù)在哪、何時(shí)以及怎樣被使用。類似于如今優(yōu)兔和抖音國(guó)際版等平臺(tái)的網(wǎng)紅，一類全新的內(nèi)容生產(chǎn)群體——數(shù)據(jù)創(chuàng)作者——將應(yīng)運(yùn)而生。從專業(yè)運(yùn)動(dòng)員到普通用戶，數(shù)據(jù)創(chuàng)作者可以是其中任何人。他們將通過(guò)可穿戴設(shè)備和其他系統(tǒng)生產(chǎn)數(shù)據(jù)，并自愿選擇將自己的數(shù)據(jù)分享給感興趣的人。

人類數(shù)據(jù)市場(chǎng)需求巨大，它可以驅(qū)動(dòng)各種系統(tǒng)更好地了解我們的身體，提供個(gè)性化治療并預(yù)測(cè)未來(lái)健康結(jié)果。單就衛(wèi)生保健而言，分析市場(chǎng)預(yù)計(jì)到2025年將超過(guò)670億美元，而到2027年，遠(yuǎn)程醫(yī)療市場(chǎng)預(yù)計(jì)將超過(guò)5590億美元，醫(yī)療保險(xiǎn)市場(chǎng)預(yù)計(jì)將超過(guò)4萬(wàn)億美元。增長(zhǎng)主要由用戶生產(chǎn)的健康數(shù)據(jù)驅(qū)動(dòng)，這就為數(shù)據(jù)創(chuàng)作者將自身信息變現(xiàn)創(chuàng)造大量機(jī)會(huì)。

雖然人工智能和以統(tǒng)計(jì)學(xué)為基礎(chǔ)的工具在驅(qū)動(dòng)人類數(shù)據(jù)經(jīng)濟(jì)方面處于初期階段，但它們?cè)诳焖侔l(fā)展。機(jī)器學(xué)習(xí)模型正在研發(fā)當(dāng)中，以便收集各方數(shù)據(jù)來(lái)研究個(gè)體，并幫助改善其健康。新的人工智能技術(shù)正展現(xiàn)出潛力，能基于用戶的活動(dòng)、生理機(jī)能、基因圖譜、基因狀況、血汗和淚水（一語(yǔ)雙關(guān)）形成分析，從而預(yù)測(cè)包括心臟病和中風(fēng)在內(nèi)的未來(lái)健康風(fēng)險(xiǎn)和結(jié)果。這些工具要想取得進(jìn)一步發(fā)展，優(yōu)質(zhì)數(shù)據(jù)必不可少。這方面的進(jìn)步很快，因?yàn)椴蓸勇矢叩膫鞲衅骺梢栽谟脩羯畹母鱾€(gè)領(lǐng)域提供更好的、顆粒度更細(xì)的數(shù)據(jù)——睡眠、健康度，隨便你說(shuō)。

不過(guò)我們還沒(méi)完全走到那一步。首先，許多傳感器（譬如智能手表）只在有限環(huán)境（譬如睡眠）中證明了有效性，而在進(jìn)行其他活動(dòng)（如高強(qiáng)度運(yùn)動(dòng)）時(shí)，其精確度和重復(fù)性會(huì)大打折扣。收集大量數(shù)據(jù)集也是一大挑戰(zhàn)。數(shù)據(jù)創(chuàng)作者通常不會(huì)提供全部的個(gè)人資料信息，也不會(huì)保持記錄日常生活的習(xí)慣。這種情境信息的缺失導(dǎo)致數(shù)據(jù)集的不完整。企業(yè)之間通常也不會(huì)數(shù)據(jù)共享，導(dǎo)致知識(shí)封閉，阻礙了研究發(fā)現(xiàn)的重大進(jìn)步。

但我們正在向前邁進(jìn)。要讓這一發(fā)展持續(xù)，分析系統(tǒng)需要大量分門別類的優(yōu)質(zhì)數(shù)據(jù)——這也是為何貨幣化的數(shù)據(jù)訪問(wèn)模式可以使行業(yè)實(shí)現(xiàn)爆炸式增長(zhǎng)。如果讓數(shù)據(jù)創(chuàng)作者能夠向企業(yè)提供個(gè)人數(shù)據(jù)的訪問(wèn)權(quán)限換取報(bào)酬，就可以精準(zhǔn)地從想要的人那里獲取想要的數(shù)據(jù)。這將加速收集合適體量的合適數(shù)據(jù)，從而使產(chǎn)品和研究更有針對(duì)性、更具價(jià)值。企業(yè)也可以對(duì)數(shù)據(jù)質(zhì)量提出更高的要求，消除馬虎的用戶錯(cuò)誤使用可穿戴技術(shù)產(chǎn)品導(dǎo)致的“無(wú)用輸入無(wú)用輸出”常見(jiàn)情況。能夠解鎖人類數(shù)據(jù)價(jià)值的組織也將更容易獲得這種數(shù)據(jù)。

《BMC公共衛(wèi)生雜志》發(fā)表的研究論文發(fā)現(xiàn)，大部分用戶在得到金錢激勵(lì)后愿意使用電子設(shè)備并分享其數(shù)據(jù)，分享對(duì)象包括他們的健康保險(xiǎn)公司。近來(lái)我們已經(jīng)在體育、醫(yī)療領(lǐng)域有過(guò)這樣的經(jīng)驗(yàn)——臨床試驗(yàn)和其他研究在招募志愿者時(shí)便會(huì)提供金錢激勵(lì)。

雖然征求明確同意和控制信息傳播可以消除許多隱私問(wèn)題，我們?nèi)孕枰钏际鞈]的手段來(lái)克服已有的挑戰(zhàn)。這些挑戰(zhàn)包括：從合乎道德的來(lái)源獲取數(shù)據(jù)（譬如從征得許可的已知來(lái)源獲取且不加修改）、防止未經(jīng)授權(quán)而分享或使用數(shù)據(jù)、轉(zhuǎn)換當(dāng)前的可穿戴系統(tǒng)以實(shí)現(xiàn)客戶數(shù)據(jù)訪問(wèn)，以及現(xiàn)行的健康數(shù)據(jù)法規(guī)約束。這些障礙的存在使得技術(shù)機(jī)構(gòu)、監(jiān)管部門和數(shù)據(jù)創(chuàng)作者之間必須制定明確的、受法律支持的關(guān)聯(lián)規(guī)則，以建立用戶信心、進(jìn)一步提高透明度并建立信任。

在新興的人類數(shù)據(jù)經(jīng)濟(jì)中，傳感器技術(shù)和其他產(chǎn)品應(yīng)當(dāng)隨著數(shù)據(jù)訪問(wèn)的增加而改進(jìn)。買不起可穿戴設(shè)備的用戶或?qū)⒚赓M(fèi)獲得這些設(shè)備。新的創(chuàng)收模式和業(yè)務(wù)類型將會(huì)出現(xiàn)，包括幫助打理數(shù)據(jù)并將其變現(xiàn)的數(shù)據(jù)代理商。能夠在數(shù)據(jù)創(chuàng)作者、技術(shù)和需求方之間協(xié)調(diào)、跟蹤和執(zhí)行數(shù)據(jù)共享協(xié)議的科技公司將成為下一批獨(dú)角獸。

這一切都表明我們將要到達(dá)一個(gè)臨界點(diǎn)，即可穿戴設(shè)備產(chǎn)生的數(shù)據(jù)價(jià)值將超過(guò)可穿戴設(shè)備本身。隨著數(shù)據(jù)創(chuàng)作者不斷分享其生成的內(nèi)容，用這一新型可控資產(chǎn)來(lái)豐富自己的社交環(huán)境，這一臨界點(diǎn)將會(huì)加速到來(lái)。通過(guò)拓展人類數(shù)據(jù)的可及性并擴(kuò)大其用途吸引力——從直播健身課程中的生物特征數(shù)據(jù)，到在屏幕上收看用受贊助的可穿戴設(shè)備展示的真人秀選手壓力水平——今天的用戶將成為明天的數(shù)據(jù)創(chuàng)作者，他們有權(quán)控制、分享和變現(xiàn)自己的信息。同時(shí)，這些數(shù)據(jù)將促進(jìn)我們對(duì)人體的共同理解，提高透明度并創(chuàng)造出一個(gè)全新的經(jīng)濟(jì)命題。

歡迎來(lái)到人類數(shù)據(jù)經(jīng)濟(jì)時(shí)代。

（譯者為“《英語(yǔ)世界》杯”翻譯大賽獲獎(jiǎng)?wù)撸?/p>