When it comes to data science, it is hard to name an industry where employers are not taking full advantage of it. For instance, everything from online purchases to one’s random internet search will be tracked and recorded somewhere. Later on, that particular data will go towards some marketing campaign or other forms of research. Regardless, it will be utilized in the future as everything that one does nowadays is tracked.
Well, given the seemingly limitless capabilities of data analysis, it does not seem surprising that the government has jumped on-board with the trend. In other words, it is quite natural to see that the federal government has developed its own techniques of discovery. The question that arises, however, is what exactly are these techniques utilized for?
Trend Research
One of the most important reasons why the government relies on data science boils down to trend research. In translation, they use their technological capabilities to uncover underlying patterns that lead to certain trends. For instance, every drop or rise in the stock market is often preceded by a specific set of events. Well, if the government can figure out what these trends are, they may be able to better support large banks and financial intermediaries. Additionally, having the ability to understand certain trends will make it much easier to predict them. So, if there is another economic downturn on the horizon, the government could potentially use its resources to detect and prevent it.
Fraud Detection
Data science is also extremely important in the field of fraud detection. Since the government is ultimately responsible for handling these situations anyway, it is only right that they employ data tools here. Consider, for example, if the law-making agencies had the ability to catch large-scale frauds that are taking place in the nation. This would mean that they are able to avoid the next Ponzi-size scheme which could rip the economy apart. In translation, they would save thousands of investors from losing their funds due to someone’s malicious intentions.
Identifying Potential Threats
Although fraud detection and trend research are very important, it does not come even close to threat identification. For those unfamiliar, this is when the government seeks various signs that point towards a suspicious activity. For example, if the research was up to par on the Las Vegas shooter in 2017, the entire incident might have been preventable. So, the government tends to spend the vast majority of its capital on data software that can track activity deemed questionable.
Solving Crimes
In the end, solving crimes would be practically impossible without the next-level tools that help read Big Data. The reason why is that most crimes nowadays leave traces that can only be uncovered with specialized systems. For instance, random credit card transactions could point the investigators in the direction of someone who recently broke the law. Thus, the government regularly relies on data science to get closer to finding the answer to their criminal inquiries and increase public safety, as shared by Forbes.
Some people would further agree that the government employs a lot of its sources to track citizens. This theory, however, has not been supported by much evidence recently. So, focusing on the previous five uses of data science by the government could explain where most of their capital goes.
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- How Does Data Science Help the World?
- How Does Data Science Work?
- How Does Law Enforcement Use Data Science?
- 30 Best Master’s in Data Science Online Degree Programs