DNA Mining and genealogical information systems: Not just for finding family ethnicity

• Date: 01 October 2018
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/isaf.1439
• Author: Daniel E. O'Leary
• Published date: 01 October 2018

RESEARCH ARTICLE

DNA Mining and genealogical information systems: Not just for

finding family ethnicity

Daniel E. O'Leary

University of Southern California, United

States

Correspondence

University of Southern California, United

States.

Email: oleary@usc.edu

Summary

The primaryexpected use of DNA and genealogysites has been their abilityto help users

find their family,find their ethnicity and to helpthem connect with distant relatives.In so

doing such sites help users to “learn more about themselves.”Such systems have also

been proposed to have thebroader goals of helping connect mankindand show people

how their similarities are greater than their differences. However, the use of DNA and

genealogyinformation recently turnedaway from just finding family connections,ethnic-

ity and origins.Recently it was announcedthat the “Golden State Killer”had been caught

using information generated from usingDNA and consumer genealogical websites.

This paper investigates some of the questions and unanticipated consequences raised

by this alternative use of these technologies and their impact on individuals, organiza-

tions and society. As part of that analysis we analyze some of the immediate

consequences on the firm from which the DNA information was gathered, the new

emerging approach used by law enforcement, some privacy concerns and provide a

network game formulation as a means to model user behavior. Finally, we examine

some potential emerging research issues.

KEYWORDS

DNA mining, genealogical information systems, network effects, network privacy

1|INTRODUCTION

Using DNA to help generate a family tree has been available to users

online since at least 1999. As noted at one such site, ‘Many thousands

of people have tested to find family connections as well as family ori-

gins’(Ysearch.com). As a result, perhaps the primary expected use of

DNA and genealogy sites has been their ability to help users find their

family, find their ethnicity and to help them connect with distant rela-

tives. In so doing, such sites help users to ‘learn more about them-

selves’(AncestryDNA.com). At least one DNA analysis firm may have

had even more lofty goals. Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation

(SMGF) had the goal of ‘… helping connect mankind …through the

sharing of genetic data, to show how the similarities we possess are

greater than our differences’(http://www.smgf.org/).

Although those expectations are fairly broad, there have been

some unexpected findings with DNA analysis. For example, one

finding is that people may not have the heritage that they thought

they had. One television commercial illustrates someone thinking they

had a largely German heritage and then finding their DNA did not

include any German and was primarily Scottish.

1

There have been

other surprise findings with DNA testing, such as finding out that ‘your

mother or father are not your mother or father’.

2

However, the use of DNA and genealogy information recently

turned away from just finding family connections, ethnicity and

origins. On Friday 27 April, 2018, the Los Angeles Times announced that

the ‘Golden State Killer’(GSK) had been caught by using information

generated from using DNA and consumer genealogical websites

(Winton, Serna, St. John, & Oreskes, 2018). In particular, the open‐

source DNA site GEDMatch.com was cited as providing information

that was used to help find the GSK.

What was not clear at the time of the announcement were:

•What are some of the unexpected consequences of this new use

of DNA and approach?

DOI: 10.1002/isaf.1439

190 © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Intell Sys Acc Fin Mgmt. 2018;25:190–196.wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/isaf