Withtherapidemergenceofdigitaldevices,anunstoppable,invisibleforceischanginghumanlivesinwaysfromthemicroscopictothegargantuan:BigData,awordthatwasbarelyusedafewyearsagobutnowgovernsthedayformanyofusfromthemomentweawakentotheextinguishingofthefinallate-eveninglightbulb.Thismassivegatheringandanalyzingofdatainrealtimeisallowingustonotonlyaddresssomeofhumanitybiggestchallengesbutisalsohelpingcreateanewkindofplanetarynervoussystem.YetasEdwardSnowdenandthereleaseofthePrismdocumentshaveshown,theaccessibilityofallthesedatacomesatasteepprice.TheHumanFaceofBigDatacapturesthepromiseandperilofthisextraordinaryknowledgerevolution.