Movies can sometimes be ahead of their time. Hollywood has always been thinking out of the box and coming up with movies based on futuristic technology with all those sci-fi thrillers. Big data and its applications is not futuristic anymore, we see its presence everywhere from the evolution of consumer focused products to the healthcare industry. If you thought business analytics is the only thing you’d see Big Data to be associated with, brace yourselves for a surprise.
Big data and analytics have made enough impact in the real world and entered the ‘reel world’ with some epic movies that showed us how powerful data really is. These movies portrayed big data and the magical powers of predictive analysis in a way that it made perfect sense to the masses. For data science enthusiasts, such movies can serve as inspiration and quality entertainment at the same time. Here is our compilation of 5 movies that explained the concept of big data and analytics in all its essence.
MoneyBall
Plot: Oakland A’s manager’s successful attempt at assembling a baseball team on a lean budget by using computer-generated analysis to recruit new players.
This movie actually put data science on the map. Sports is one avenue where everything is judged based on experience and bias rather than data. The protagonist Billy Beane played by Brad Pitt is the manager of Oakland Athletics baseball team. The story revolves around him using data and computer analytics to judge and acquire players rather than on mere biases. In a field where decisions are made based on intuitions and human experience, he comes up with the revolutionary idea of using data to ask the right questions. By removing biases and the emotional element from analyses, he finally takes his team to success. This movie taught us that the art of data science is more about asking the right questions than just having the data.
21
Plot: Six MIT students get trained to become experts in counting cards and subsequently makes a clean sweep off the Vegas casinos and walk away with millions in winnings.
This fact-based story is a real treat for all the data fanatics out there. It shows predictive analysis in live action and it’s nothing short of mesmerizing. These 6 students who are good with numbers come up with a solid plan to make money from the blackjack tables in Las Vegas casinos. The scheme they create using codes, numbers and hand gestures opens up the gates of fortunes. Wait before you judge this movie for its gambling theme, it actually teaches you how data based decisions can bring real profit to your business.
The Imitation Game
Plot: Mathematician Alan Turing tries to crack the enigma code with help from fellow mathematicians during the World War II.
If you are a data science or mathematics enthusiast, this is the last movie you’d want to miss. The Imitation Game tells us the story of British government’s attempt at cracking the secret codes created with a typewriter like device called Enigma using data analyses and complex computing. Alan Turing, who is entrusted with the task, creates a primitive computer to try out all possible combinations and succeeds in the end. This helps the allied forces in the war against Nazis. The attention to detail by the director is outstanding in this one and would be a treat to all the data scientists out there.
Ex Machina
Plot: A talented young programmer is chosen to be part of a revolutionary experiment in artificial intelligence by assessing human-like qualities of an AI robot.
If artificial intelligence is your thing, this movie does a great job at visualizing AI in its full glory. Being a sci-fi movie, Ex Machina does go a long way into the future that we haven’t been able to bring to reality yet. Data collection and surveillance are strong themes in the movie with the twist of having all this data available to an artificially intelligent robot. Self-evolving artificial neural networks makes this robot Ava, capable of learning new things as more data comes along. The movie discusses both the bright and dark sides of the AI equation and does an excellent job at it.
Minority Report
Plot: In a future where the police forces are capable of predicting crimes that are about to be committed using data mining and predictive analysis, an officer who works in the unit himself is accused of a future murder.
This movie touches innovative concepts and future possibilities of big data. Using data to predict human behaviour certainly is something unimaginable at the moment, but that doesn’t affect the amusement this movie brings about with its exciting concept and storyline. The thrilling aspect of the movie can be attributed to PreCogs, who are a team of data scientists who can predict future crimes like murder by analysing large data sets. These super data scientists can easily crack the challenge of examining data and piecing them together to nail down the crucial details in order to prevent the next crime.
Takeaway
These movies brought the complicated concepts of data science and analytics to the big screen, even back when data-backed business was still a novel concept. Now that big data is everywhere, you should get yourself accustomed with the ideas. We’re sure these movies would help in grasping the basics of data science. If you are a data scientist, it could be a huge loss not to have watched these iconic movies that featured your field of passion.
