The Age of Surveillance Capitalism

This book studies surveillance capitalism, which the author presents as a new kind of power held by large technology firms. According to the book, these firms collect personal data from people online and pass it to buyers such as governments and shops. Their profits now rely on steering what people do as well as forecasting it. Shoshana Zuboff argues that the early hopes for the Internet have faded, and that readers and societies face a decision whose result will matter for decades to come.

Why You Should Read?

• Understand the book's idea of surveillance capitalism, a power it says operates without democratic oversight.
• Explore the book's account of how this new capitalism affects society, politics, business and technology.
• Learn why the book argues that technology has deepened inequality and divisions despite the early hopes for the Internet.
• Discover what the book offers for protecting individuals and communities so they stay in command of digital tools.

About the Author

Shoshana Zuboff was born on November 18, 1951, and is an American scholar who works as a writer, professor, social psychologist and philosopher. She is a professor emerita at Harvard Business School. Her earlier books include In the Age of the Smart Machine: The Future of Work and Power, and The Support Economy: Why Corporations Are Failing Individuals and the Next Episode of Capitalism. Her research has produced original concepts such as instrumentarian power, economies of action and the coup from above.