Whether you’re on social media or surfing the web, you’re probably sharing more personal data than you realize. 

The NOVA documentary, Secrets in your Data, hosted by Alok Patel, explores how our personal data is collected and used online. It highlights the risks and benefits of data sharing, traces its history, and showcases tools to protect our privacy. Patel guides viewers through data tracking complexities and offers tips for safeguarding personal information.

In the segment "Benefits of Sharing Data," Patel visits the MIT Media Lab, where Ramesh Raskar and his team at the Camera Culture research group are developing innovative tools that protect patient privacy. They use "no-peek privacy" and "data smashing" to extract insights without exposing sensitive data.

Raskar's approach leverages AI to analyze health data within hospitals, transmitting only the valuable conclusions. For example, AI can identify Covid-19 signs from lung X-rays without sharing raw data. This method could significantly advance medical research if widely adopted by tech companies.