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@Paul – I think that data’s direction of travel will always be towards a decision to be made. I don’t see a link between the data’s direction of travel and its ability to undermine a network, even if the entire network is in one direction (eg. train timetables). However I see a link between ‘data connections’ and ‘network value’ although network value are difficult to quantify.
In my view digital twins are tools that enable us to make better quicker decisions, i.e. to go quicker through the information value chain (figure below) where decisions are likely to involve a form of intervention on the physical world and an intention of better outcomes. And of course data quality has a fundamental role in this (bad data > bad decisions).
The other use of data often mentioned highlighted by @Matthew is entertainment (eg. Books, Netflix, Meta, etc.).
I guess there is also a commercial/legal angle to your point on direction but I don’t think this was what you were hinting to.
Source: Gemini Principles