I scored this a 4 / 5
This was a fun read, that really helped frame where we are in terms of data controlling so much of our lives in a historical context.
It touched on many areas of data science I’ve never really understood, and it was great to gets a birds-eye view of some of the early work that went into what I know as “people running R scripts”.
I think what will stick with me the most is that the road to our reliance on data, and the unethical use of it has been paved with people who thought they were being more ethical, certainly in the early days.
Of course at a certain point it turned to companies forming how data is collected and used, which is a different kettle of fish.
Oftentimes the book becomes a critique of the systems in which these companies operate. This quote, for example, stood out
Powerful forces often are reticent to investigate the historical genesis that made them possible … complex histories unsettle the obviousness, the legitimacy, of their power.
One final, mini take away, which I’m sure I’ve heard before but never internalised, is Kranzberg’s first law. Which is that technology is neither good nor bad; nor is it neutral.
I’d recommend you give this book a go if match any of the following;
- like tech, or data generally
- want to understand how the heck we got were we are
- like a bit of social and tech history
