Doing the Right Thing

Doing the Right Thing - that is the final chapter of the book -- Designing Data-Intensive Applications - 2nd ed by Martin Kleppmann and Chris Riccomini and boy am I hooked !
I actually jumped straight to the last chapter, and I genuinely feel like writing my reflections after every chapter I read. This is the second one. (Yu can check out the first reflection here - Encodings)

This chapter isn't really about databases or distributed systems. It's about something much bigger, it is about doing the right thing. More specifically, collecting data responsibly, using it ethically, and understanding the trade-offs that come with it. One example the author gives is of someone suffering from a rare/critical disease. The more researchers who have access to that person's data, the better the chances of finding a treatment that could help not only that individual but many future patients as well. But now imagine the other side of that equation. What if sharing the same data affects that person's ability to get insurance, a loan, or even a job? Suddenly, the same data that could save lives can also become a liability. That's the thing with these problems they rarely have a perfect answer.

Another interesting point the author makes is that, especially in research, we often don't know upfront how data will eventually be used. New questions emerge, new discoveries happen, and entirely different research directions appear. So it's not always about organizations being unwilling to explain everything. Sometimes they genuinely don't have all the answers when the data is first collected.

Then I came across this paragraph, and honestly, I had to stop reading for a few minutes -- 

Surveillance:

As a thought experiment, try replacing the word data with surveillance, and observe whether common phrases still sound so good [23]. How about this: “In our surveillance-driven organization we collect real-time surveillance streams and store them in our surveillance warehouse. Our surveillance scientists use advanced analytics and surveillance processing in order to derive new insights.”

That one paragraph completely changed how I looked at many of the things we casually accept today.

It also made me reflect on my own work, but even more on the amount of data that is already floating around us. I still receive countless calls for loans and credit cards, and honestly, I have no idea where my phone number came from or how it reached those companies. Once that information is out there, there is practically no mechanism to pull it back or even know who has access to it.

The chapter then walks through several fascinating examples. One that genuinely surprised me was about smartwatches. Researchers have shown that motion sensor data from wearables can, under certain conditions, be used to infer the keys someone types and thus crack the password. Whether that is easy or difficult isn't really the point. The point is that something we mostly think of as a harmless fitness tracker can reveal much more than we imagine. It was one of those moments where I paused and thought, "I never looked at it that way."

The book also discusses something we all know at some level—that many of the "free" services we use are funded through data collection, primarily for advertising and marketing. That itself wasn't a new revelation for me. What I appreciated was how the author connected all these seemingly unrelated examples into one larger conversation about ethics, responsibility, and power.

Another section that really changed my perspective was around consent.

Until now, my thinking had always been fairly simple. If I don't like the terms and conditions, I simply don't use the service.

This chapter challenged that belief.

The author argues that many of these services are no longer just products—they have become part of our social infrastructure. If participation in society increasingly depends on using a platform, then saying "just don't use it" isn't always a practical choice anymore.

Take WhatsApp as an example. Friends', Family and even unOffical Office groups are there. If someone decides not to use WhatsApp, they aren't simply opting out of an app—they are slowly disconnecting themselves from an important part of modern communication. WhatsApp is just one example, and I'm sure yu can think of many others.

The same thought came to me while thinking about ride-hailing apps. Could I live without quick-commerce apps? Probably yes. But in cities like Mumbai or Bangalore, could I realistically avoid Uber or Ola altogether? That's becoming much harder. Many taxi and auto drivers now prefer accepting rides through those apps, especially for airport trips. These platforms have quietly become part of everyday infrastructure.

Again, there isn't a perfect answer here.

This chapter didn't try to provide one either.

What it did do was change the way I think about data. It made me realize that privacy isn't simply about hiding information. Consent isn't simply clicking "I Agree." And doing the right thing isn't always obvious when technology, research, business, and society all intersect.

Sometimes the most valuable thing a book can do isn't answer your questions.

It changes the questions yu ask.

These are just a few of my reflections after reading the chapter, and as always, I'd love to hear yours. 🙂