The past few decades have seen a total shift in the production and usage of data across the world. There’s a reason that 94% of businesses are currently investing in data and analytics. Beyond that, just monitoring the last two years, more data has been produced in the past two years than since the beginning of time. Simply put, data is on an upward rampage, with businesses and individuals all turning to it for modern solutions. Especially in business, data-driven insights have helped radically increase the speed and efficiency of modern business, touching everything from marketing and sales to communications and HR.

With all eyes on data, it’s no wonder that documentaries which explore the collection, production, and usage of data are now more popular than ever before. In this article, we’ll take a look at the top 5 data documentaries on IMDB, demonstrating why they’ve become so central to the modern cultural canon.

We’ll be moving through the following data documentaries:

• Web Data Revolution
• Humans Need Not Apply
• The Human Face of Big Data
• The Joy of Stats
• The Great Hack

Let’s break these down.

#1 - Web Data Revolution

Launched in July 2022, Web Data Revolution by Bright Data, is one of the newest data documentaries to hit the web. Diving into the world of data’s utility in business, Web Data Revolution demonstrates how data has quickly become the most valuable resource in the world.

Although a shorter documentary on this list, Bright Data packs a lot into their runtime, touring the positive impacts that data has on businesses and individuals. By using the metaphor of a gold rush, this documentary charts how everyone, from Fortune 500 CEOs to small businesses and even human rights organizations, are now turning to data as a source of absolute truth.

Data is produced every single moment, with the real-world reflections that it can create helping to inform us about the world we live in. Every action taken, in the real world or online, leaves a trail of data that can be collected and used.

Taking a positive view of how pervasive data is in our lives, Bright Data outlines just how impactful data can be. Whether we’re using it to streamline our business or shut down a human traffic operation, this film shows the world that data is the singular most important resource we have to lead us to a brighter future.

Best For: Those interested in the positive side of data. How it’s collected, what we can do with it, and why data has become such an essential resource for business and humanity.

#2 - Humans Need Not Apply

Coming in with an impressive IMDB rating of 8.5/10, Humans Need Not Apply is one of the most well-known data documentaries in the field. Published in 2014, this 15-minute short-form documentary has had enough time to become a staple of the data scene.

Humans Need Not Apply, directed and written by C.G.P. Grey, explores the world of artificial intelligence and machine learning. Instead of focusing on the potentially negative side of the rise in these fields, this documentary looks at human labor, and demonstrates how automation could replace the need for humans to work.

This fantastical vision of the world demonstrates a society in which humans are able to simply live, exist, and do whatever they want. Instead of spending hours every day working, the move to full automation would free humanity from the own labor conditions it has established for itself. The title is a reflection of this, with all labor boards being filled and executed by AI tools.

Incredibly ground-breaking for 2014, and still highly controversial in 2022, Humans Need Not Apply gives us a glimpse into how data and AI could be the tools that free humanity from labor forever.

Best For: Those interested in politics and data combined, the introduction of universal basic income (UBI), and those that want to see a future unbound by daily labor.

#3 - The Human Face of Big Data

Another data documentary released in 2014, The Human Face of Big Data comes in with our longest runtime so far of 56 minutes. In this hour-long special, the documentary traces how quickly digital devices have become necessary for human communication. While fairly unheard of just a few years ago, Big Data and its reach have now permeated into the vast majority of our lives.

One of the common threads throughout the documentaries is the fact that big data relies on this human network. Without the prevalence of digital devices throughout society, businesses wouldn't have the connection to data that allows for big data insights to form. Due to this, we’ve entered an era of digitization, with almost every action being facilitated through technology.

The documentary makes a point of focusing on the human side of data. With each person that uses a digital device being a driving force that creates data, they are vital for its proliferation. Finally, The Human Face of Big Data turns to this balance, presenting big data as something that could either help or harm humanity in the long run.

Best for: Those that are interested in big data, technology, and how they work within our lives but are still worried about the future repercussions of just what this reliance on technology could mean.

#4 - The Joy of Stats

Directed by Dan Hillman, The Joy of Stats is a deep dive into the mathematics behind the formation of big data. The production and collection of data is growing at an alarming rate. With this increase in the scope of data capturing, those that work in statistics have to handle vastly more work than they had a little over a decade ago.

The central point of this documentary is this deluge of modern data, with Hans Rosling, the presenter, walking us through everything we need to know about how researchers are battling the mounting tide of data. Coming in at only an hour long, this is an incredibly in-depth look at the field in such a short amount of time.

Although more technical than the other data documentaries on this list, The Joy of Stats is still engaging and succinct. While in-depth, it is still easy to understand and directly connects the process of creating data insight with the final result.

Best For: Those interested in the methods that make data useful. If you are inclined toward mathematics and statistics, then this glimpse behind the curtain is incredibly entertaining and rewarding.

#5 - The Great Hack

Released back in 2019, The Great Hack is one of the most well-known data documentaries, coming directly out of the tech giant Netflix. This documentary focuses on how larger businesses buy, process, and control user data, turning public data into a weapon.

A big hit at the Sundance Film Festival, The Great Hack received critical acclaim, especially due to its in-depth coverage of the Cambridge Analytica scandal and its navigation of how people were impacted by this. The Great Hack is exactly what you imagine a data documentary would be, covering the vast process of data collection and how this is, perhaps, pushing the limits of what’s right.

This documentary dives into how an entire web of data can be constructed around individuals, pulling from their web searches, card purchases, and movement data. With the precision of modern data tools, these user profiles are incredibly accurate, often being sold to the highest bidder to help companies sell their products more efficiently.

Definitely one of the data documentaries that’s made the biggest splash over the past couple of years, this is definitely not one to miss.

Best For: Those interested in the darker side of data, and how it is used and manipulated by businesses and governments in order to better adjust to consumer behavior.

Final Thoughts

Across these five data documentaries, you have a selection that depicts the good, the bad, and the ugly side of modern data. Exploding from early documentaries that trace the promising potential of data right up to modern releases that show the potential chaos that data could create, we’ve covered it all.

As you move through these five data documentaries, you’ll be able to form strong opinions, seeing both the useful and the potentially dangerous side of data. Yet, while this field continues to be one of the most well-funded areas of research, the rampage of data isn’t going to slow down any time soon.