Digital Era 1

For 200 years, industry mastered iron, fire, strength and energy. Today, electronics shapes our everyday objects, integrating chips: computers, phones, keys, games, household appliances, etc. Data, software and calculation frame the conduct of humankind, and everything is translated into data. The first volume in this series analyzes the stakes of the massive data which accumulate on the Internet, keeping track of our actions and gestures, the state of the world and our knowledge.

Auteur
Jean-Pierre Chamoux, University of Paris-Descartes, France.

Contenu

Note to Reader ix
Jean-Pierre CHAMOUX

Preface xi
Jean-Pierre CHAMOUX

Introduction xvii
Jean-Pierre CHAMOUX

Part 1 What's New and Why? 1

Introduction to Part 1 3

**Chapter 1 Digital Omnipresence: Its Causes and Consequences 5
**Jean-Pierre CHAMOUX

From analog to digital 7

Computerization, prior to the digital revolution 8

The Internet, a real breakthrough factor 9

Importance of competition 11

Highly regulated communication infrastructure and services 14

Changes in European markets 18

From crisis to American rebound 20

Telephone and Internet companies 22

Summary 23

Bibliography 27

Appendix The 2000 crisis: lessons and industrial consequences 28

**Chapter 2 Mathematical Culture and Massive Data 35
**Jean DHOMBRES

The Turing machine, the inspiration for massive data? 39

What does calculable mean? 42

From natural to mathematics 46

An ancient algorithm and its programming: gcd 48

Styles of mathematization 51

Mathematics, algorithms and measures of complexity 55

Representations of communities and massive data 58

Constraints of mathematization 62

The notion of the invariant: perspective,vectorial, linear algebra and matrix representation 66

Graphs, their calculations and some algorithms 69

Conclusion 72

Bibliography 74

**Chapter 3 From Sample to Big Data: Competing or Complementary Paradigms? 77
**Philippe TASSI

Sampling and big data: useful synergy 79

Is this an ephemeral or sustainable phenomenon 84

How can data confidentiality be guaranteed? 89

Protecting personal data 95

How to conclude? 101

Bibliography 102

**Chapter 4 Researching Forms and Correlations:the Big Data Approach 105
**Gilles SANTINI

Deconstruction and accumulation of data 107

Massive databases 107

Playing games with the devil? 109

A case study 110

The protection of privacy 112

Automatic processing 113

Conclusion 113

Bibliography 114

**Chapter 5 Bitcoin: an Innovative System 115
**Gérard DRÉAN

Bitcoin and bitcoin: some key concepts 117

The Bitcoin system 118

The transactions register 121

Overview 124

Reliability and safety 125

Software changes 127

Fraud and control takeover 128

Evolution of Bitcoin and peer-to-peer payment 129

In summary 131

Bibliography 131

Part 2 Tactics and Strategies 133

Introduction to Part 2 135

**Chapter 6 Bitcoin and Other Cyber-currency 137
**Gérard DRÉAN

Introduction 139

Bitcoin, the first cyber-currency 139

New tools of exchange 143

The problem of growth 144

Towards a refoundation? 146

Cyberspace and sovereign currencies 151

Competition between payment systems 153

Competition between units of account 156

Conclusion 159

Bibliography 161

**Chapter 7 Health and Care: Digital Challenges 163
**Isabelle HILALI

What are we talking about? 165

Major changes for physicians 165

What about the patients? 168

New challenges for medication 168

Hospitals, clinics and nursing homes 171

Will we be able to insure health tomorrow? 172

The challenges of digital healthcare 174

Conclusion 178

Bibliography 180 **Chapter 8 Access to Health Data:Debates and Controversies in France 183
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