Big Data, Big Decisions for Science, Society, and Business: Report on a Research Agenda Setting Workshop

The report from the workshop, "Big Data, Big Decisions for Government, Business and Society," makes a number of astute contributions. There is no need to replicate them in this foreword - they are in the report. What might be missed comes between the lines, where provocative points are made. Big Data means big opinions and big stakes. Those who think Big Data important want to be proven right, those who think Big Data a passing fad want Big Data to fade, and those who think Big Data will bring profound change hope for change. Big Data, like everything important, is political.