Book Review – The Age of Surveillance Capitalism: The Fight for a Human Future at the New Frontier of Power
Surveillance capitalists like Google and Amazon will do whatever they can to corner supply routes to data about us and our actions. In Zuboff’s lengthy book The age of surveillance capitalism, we learn about the strategic and often underhand means by which these data are captured, and the ‘instrumen...
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Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
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Association International de Management Stratégique (AIMS)
2021-12-01
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Series: | M@n@gement |
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Online Access: | https://management-aims.com/index.php/mgmt/article/view/5519/14165 |
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author | Ella Hafermalz |
author_facet | Ella Hafermalz |
author_sort | Ella Hafermalz |
collection | DOAJ |
description | Surveillance capitalists like Google and Amazon will do whatever they can to corner supply routes to data about us and our actions. In Zuboff’s lengthy book The age of surveillance capitalism, we learn about the strategic and often underhand means by which these data are captured, and the ‘instrumentarian’ ideology that provides the logic for this enterprise. Zuboff shows that the aim of advertisers and ‘people analytics’ advocates is to use our personal data to determine our behavior. At stake is free will and our ‘right to the future tense’. In this book review, I reflect on Zuboff ’s analysis of how Big Tech, as Big Other, is controlling our lives. I first highlight the prescience of the book’s arguments. I then compare aspects of the book with earlier tomes that were critical of new technology, to argue that taking a deterministic view of peoples’ relationship with technology may inadvertently support the hyped narrative that data analytics and algorithms are all-powerful. |
first_indexed | 2024-12-24T11:18:07Z |
format | Article |
id | doaj.art-e7cf9290681942578f894a01495b4e25 |
institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
issn | 1286-4692 |
language | English |
last_indexed | 2024-12-24T11:18:07Z |
publishDate | 2021-12-01 |
publisher | Association International de Management Stratégique (AIMS) |
record_format | Article |
series | M@n@gement |
spelling | doaj.art-e7cf9290681942578f894a01495b4e252022-12-21T16:58:20ZengAssociation International de Management Stratégique (AIMS)M@n@gement1286-46922021-12-01241610.37725/mgmt.v24.55195519Book Review – The Age of Surveillance Capitalism: The Fight for a Human Future at the New Frontier of PowerElla Hafermalz0KIN Research Group, School of Business and Economics, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, The NetherlandsSurveillance capitalists like Google and Amazon will do whatever they can to corner supply routes to data about us and our actions. In Zuboff’s lengthy book The age of surveillance capitalism, we learn about the strategic and often underhand means by which these data are captured, and the ‘instrumentarian’ ideology that provides the logic for this enterprise. Zuboff shows that the aim of advertisers and ‘people analytics’ advocates is to use our personal data to determine our behavior. At stake is free will and our ‘right to the future tense’. In this book review, I reflect on Zuboff ’s analysis of how Big Tech, as Big Other, is controlling our lives. I first highlight the prescience of the book’s arguments. I then compare aspects of the book with earlier tomes that were critical of new technology, to argue that taking a deterministic view of peoples’ relationship with technology may inadvertently support the hyped narrative that data analytics and algorithms are all-powerful.https://management-aims.com/index.php/mgmt/article/view/5519/14165surveillance capitalismzuboffbook reviewinstrumentarianismdigital technology |
spellingShingle | Ella Hafermalz Book Review – The Age of Surveillance Capitalism: The Fight for a Human Future at the New Frontier of Power M@n@gement surveillance capitalism zuboff book review instrumentarianism digital technology |
title | Book Review – The Age of Surveillance Capitalism: The Fight for a Human Future at the New Frontier of Power |
title_full | Book Review – The Age of Surveillance Capitalism: The Fight for a Human Future at the New Frontier of Power |
title_fullStr | Book Review – The Age of Surveillance Capitalism: The Fight for a Human Future at the New Frontier of Power |
title_full_unstemmed | Book Review – The Age of Surveillance Capitalism: The Fight for a Human Future at the New Frontier of Power |
title_short | Book Review – The Age of Surveillance Capitalism: The Fight for a Human Future at the New Frontier of Power |
title_sort | book review the age of surveillance capitalism the fight for a human future at the new frontier of power |
topic | surveillance capitalism zuboff book review instrumentarianism digital technology |
url | https://management-aims.com/index.php/mgmt/article/view/5519/14165 |
work_keys_str_mv | AT ellahafermalz bookreviewtheageofsurveillancecapitalismthefightforahumanfutureatthenewfrontierofpower |