“The Human Body: A Data-Generating Machine”

“The Human Body: A Data-Generating Machine”

Did you know that your body is a source of digital data? Every movement, gesture, and expression you make can be captured, analyzed, and used for various purposes. In this article, we will explore how the human body creates digital data, what are some of the applications and challenges of this data, and how artificial intelligence (AI) can help us make sense of it.

What is Digital Data from the Human Body?

Digital data from the human body is any information that can be measured, recorded, and stored in a digital format. This includes biometric data, such as your heart rate, blood pressure, and fingerprints, as well as behavioral data, such as your facial expressions, gestures, and posture.

The human body is becoming the biggest data platform in the world, as more devices and sensors are able to capture and transmit data from our bodies. For example, wearable devices like smartwatches and fitness trackers can monitor our health and activity levels, while cameras and microphones can record our voice and appearance.

How much digital data does your body generate?

It is hard to estimate how much digital data your body generates, as it depends on many factors, such as the type and number of devices you use, the frequency and duration of your interactions, and the quality and resolution of the data. However, some studies have tried to quantify this amount.

For instance, a study estimated that an average person generates about 1.7 MB of data per second. This means that in one day, you could generate about 147 GB of data, which is equivalent to 30 DVDs. In one year, you could generate about 54 TB of data!

Another study focused on human movements and how they generate data. The study claimed that body movement generates tens of thousands of data points a minute. Remember, you move through 3 spatial planes (length, width, and depth) and across a fourth plane, time, all day long. Only AI can harness this data and produce volumes of information.

Applications of Digital Data from the Human Body!

Digital data from the human body has many potential applications in various domains, such as health care, education, entertainment, security, and marketing. For example:

  •  Health care: Digital data from the human body can help diagnose diseases, monitor health conditions, provide personalized treatments, and prevent health risks.
  • Education: Digital data from the human body can help assess learning outcomes, enhance student engagement, provide feedback, and tailor learning experiences.
  • Entertainment: Digital data from the human body can help create realistic virtual reality avatars, generate immersive content, enable interactive gaming, and personalize entertainment preferences.
  • Security: Digital data from the human body can help verify identity, prevent fraud, enhance safety, and protect privacy.
  • Marketing: Digital data from the human body can help understand consumer behavior, predict demand, optimize pricing, and customize offers.


AI is the key technology that enables the collection, analysis, and transformation of digital data from the human body. AI can perform various tasks with this data.


How does AI Process Digital Data from the Human Body?

  • Detection: AI can detect and locate the presence and position of a person or a body part in an image or a video. For example, AI can detect faces in a crowd or hands on a keyboard.
  • Recognition: AI can recognize and identify a person or a body part based on their biometric features. For example, AI can recognize a person by their face or voice or identify a finger by its fingerprint.
  • Tracking: AI can track and follow the movements and poses of a person or a body part over time. For example, AI can track the motion of a dancer or an athlete or follow the gaze of a user.
  • Analysis: AI can analyze and interpret the meaning and significance of the digital data from the human body. For example, AI can analyze the expression of a person to infer their emotion or intention or interpret the speech of a person to understand their message.
  • Synthesis: AI can synthesize and generate new digital data from the human body based on existing data or models. For example, AI can synthesize realistic images or videos of a person or generate natural speech or text from a person.

Challenges and risks of digital data from the human body!

  • Privacy: Digital data from the human body can reveal sensitive and personal information about individuals, such as their health status, emotions, preferences, and habits.
  • Security: Digital data from the human body can be vulnerable to cyberattacks, theft, or misuse.
  • Ethics: Digital data from the human body can raise ethical questions about ownership. You may not have full control over how the data is collected, stored, accessed, used, or shared.

Best practices to safeguard digital data your body generates!

  • It is important to be well-informed and be responsible about the digital data that your body creates.
  • You should understand the benefits and risks of using the devices and the data.
  • You should read and understand the terms and conditions of the devices and the data providers.
  • You should choose the devices and the data providers that respect your rights and preferences.
  • You should manage the settings and options of the devices and the data according to your needs and goals.
  • You should review and update the devices and the data regularly.
  • You should seek help or advice when you have questions or concerns about the devices or the data.

The human body is a rich source of digital data that can provide valuable insights into our physical and mental states, preferences, behaviors, and emotions. However, these data also raise ethical and social issues regarding privacy, security, consent, ownership, and identity. Therefore, it is important to be aware of how the human body creates digital data and how these data are used by various technologies.


#wethehumans


Roubatou Lahi Djibo

Student at University of Ghana

10mo

This is absolutely amazing to read.

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