At the risk of being a contrarian in this data-driven AI age, I want to share a personal story that shows the opposite of “the more data you have, the better decisions you make.”
For four years, I was using a free app that monitors my daily weight and my sleep quality. I was a light sleeper and had issues with sleep for years. The App collected my sleep-related data every night, and showed me the next morning the amount of time I spent in deep sleep, light sleep, REM, lying awake, AND snoring.
– To watch this as a 5-min video
– To listen to it as a 5-min podcast
To feed the App with the data, I bought their detective IoT device – an electric mat, inserted between the bottom of my mattress and the top of the bed frame. In hindsight, now I can not believe the level of blind trust I placed in that device and App. Now I am wondering what other data it had collected BUT never shared with me on the app!
My desire for better sleep was also the vulnerability which the App cracked open to get data.
In the beginning, I thought this App was cool, since it gave me insight about the details of my sleep that I’d otherwise never have known.
I also bought their digital scale that gave metrics other than body weight: each time I stepped on the scale, it showed the percentage of fact, muscles, water, BMI, bone mass, weight gain or loss from yesterday, even the weather forecast. It “remembered” my birthday too!
I got into the habit of checking the App when I got up to see my sleep numbers, and step on the scale first thing in the morning. This routine did have some positive effect on motivating me to maintain a healthy body weight and improve sleep hygiene.
Until last year, one morning, I could not see my numbers on the App. The screen was blocked with a request to allow the company to use my personal data. There were no “allow or disallow” options. There was only one “option”: click “allow”, then it would show me my numbers.
I was alarmed. The data was too personal to share with others. I did not click “allow”. Then I deleted the App, unplugged the detective mat under my mattress, and quit this data-driven habit cold turkey.
The company had the audacity to bet on my addition, that they had carefully groomed for years. They assumed the vast majority of users would click “allow”. After all, we trusted their device with our most intimate data.
After quitting the App abruptly, I thought I was going to feel at least a sense of loss. But no, to my surprise, I felt a sense of relief. I felt a little more free, less controlled; more intuitive, less manipulated. My mood and sense of true self were no longer tethered to the “data yo-yos”. My daily routines were no longer led by data. I was leading and living my own life.
Interestingly, without the sleep numbers generated by the IoT and the App, my sleep actually improved. Perhaps the data had been creating subconscious stress all along. The negative effect of data-driven life style outweighed the positive.
In an age of digital manipulation, all of us are seduced into a data-driven lifestyle, and becoming more and more “digitally naked”.
I do like data, don’t get me wrong. I like technology, and I find AI a truly useful tool, even a partner at times.
But how much is too much? By letting data direct my life, to whom am I giving up control and autonomy?
For tens of thousands of years since the dawn of civilization, humans never had so many digital devices, and relied more on their internal biological clock, common sense, and connection to nature and to each other. Life was simpler, easier, and arguably more peaceful. Do we really need all the devices and gadgets to feel smarter? Or the illusion of being in control of our destiny?
In fact, I felt most at peace and happiest when I was hiking in the wilderness where there was no cell phone connection, where I was in harmony with nature’s beauty, magic, and rhythm.
Just because I was asked for my data (by apps, merchants, websites, etc.) does not mean that I have to yield.
Sometimes, less data means more freedom, more protection, and better quality of life.
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Joanne Z. Tan is a global brand strategist, thought leadership coach, and founder of 10 Plus Brand, Inc. and its subsidiary AIXD.world. She advises executives, founders, and organizations on building influential, differentiated brands that drive visibility, credibility, and revenue growth. Her work integrates strategic positioning, AI-era brand architecture, and executive thought leadership to help leaders become recognized authorities in their industries. Also as a content strategist and branding expert, and a dynamic speaker, Joanne helps decode Brand DNA to elevate successful businesses to powerful brands in the AI age.
Her coaching emphasizes comprehensive strategies, business modeling, multidisciplinary thought leadership, high-authority content creation, brand building, GTM, user experience design, AI Native Brand Architecture™, and AIXD™ (AI Experience Design). Trained in law and business with a liberal arts foundation from Brandeis University, Joanne is also a former journalist, award-winning photographic artist, poet, and avid wilderness backpacker.
AIXD (AI Experience Design) is a global platform and community focused on advancing responsible, human-centered artificial intelligence. It brings together leaders, technologists, strategists, and innovators to explore how AI can be designed, implemented, and governed to enhance human experience and long-term business value. Through thought leadership, collaboration, and strategic dialogue, AIXD aims to shape the future of AI – human symbiosis with impact, innovation, and integrity.
© Joanne Z. Tan, 2026. All rights reserved.
