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_wastelandbaby's review against another edition
2.0
Fascynuje mnie wykorzystanie Big Data na różne sposoby i pod tym względem książka nie zawiodła. Ale jeśli chcemy się dowiedzieć się szczegółów na temat firmy Cambridge Analytica to autorka nie da nam więcej informacji niż możemy znaleźć w internecie. Sama przyznaje że zajmowała się bardziej przedstawieniem oferty klientom, organizowaniem pracowników, miejsc pracy itd. O szczegółach kampanii Trumpa dowiedziała się jakiś czas po jego wygranej, o wycieku danych z Facebooka dowiedziała się z gazet tak samo o tym że CA jednak nie usunęła tych danych ze swojej bazy.
Autorka także mniej więcej co 4 strony musi nam przypomnieć że jest demokratka i była wolontariuszką przy kampanii Obamy. Oczywiście nie przeszkodziło jej to w pokazywaniu się publicznie z czołowymi republikanami czy wierzeniu w kłamliwe filmy na temat Hillary Clinton (przyznaje też że głosowała na Sandersa w prawyborach ale później olała wybory prezydenckie). Ma też mnóstwo tłumaczeń na swoje zachowanie, niby na koniec przyznaje że podobało jej się zadawanie z "wyższymi sferami" to jednak uznaje że była to wina manipulacji jej szefa. Sam fakt że postanowiła opowiedzieć o wszystkim co wiedziała na temat interesów CA dopiero po pierwszym wycieku danych i jej zwolnienie z firmy mówi sam za siebie. Nie podobał też mi się to że próbowała zdyskredytować oryginalnego whistleblowera CA - Christophera Wylie pisząc że z tego co wiedziała o nim z firmy jest osobą o totalnie innym zachowaniu niż sam siebie przedstawia. Pewnie jakby zapytano innych pracowników CA o nią to też by jej nie przedstawili jako filara firmy za którego się uważała.
Ogólnie ta książka jest dobrą przestrogą o tym jak pieniądze, poczucie wyższości i pochwały z ust charyzmatycznej osoby potrafią omamić każdego. Wyniosłam z niej dużo ciekawych (i szokujących) u informacji na temat big data i ochrony danych osobowych ale przy okazji wycierpiałam przez autorkę która od pierwszej strony tworzyła sobie wymówki. Nie wiem czy było to tego warte.
Chyba jednak lepszym wyborem byłaby książka Christophera Wylie - Mindf*ck (której niestety jeszcze nie czytałam).
Autorka także mniej więcej co 4 strony musi nam przypomnieć że jest demokratka i była wolontariuszką przy kampanii Obamy. Oczywiście nie przeszkodziło jej to w pokazywaniu się publicznie z czołowymi republikanami czy wierzeniu w kłamliwe filmy na temat Hillary Clinton (przyznaje też że głosowała na Sandersa w prawyborach ale później olała wybory prezydenckie). Ma też mnóstwo tłumaczeń na swoje zachowanie, niby na koniec przyznaje że podobało jej się zadawanie z "wyższymi sferami" to jednak uznaje że była to wina manipulacji jej szefa. Sam fakt że postanowiła opowiedzieć o wszystkim co wiedziała na temat interesów CA dopiero po pierwszym wycieku danych i jej zwolnienie z firmy mówi sam za siebie. Nie podobał też mi się to że próbowała zdyskredytować oryginalnego whistleblowera CA - Christophera Wylie pisząc że z tego co wiedziała o nim z firmy jest osobą o totalnie innym zachowaniu niż sam siebie przedstawia. Pewnie jakby zapytano innych pracowników CA o nią to też by jej nie przedstawili jako filara firmy za którego się uważała.
Ogólnie ta książka jest dobrą przestrogą o tym jak pieniądze, poczucie wyższości i pochwały z ust charyzmatycznej osoby potrafią omamić każdego. Wyniosłam z niej dużo ciekawych (i szokujących) u informacji na temat big data i ochrony danych osobowych ale przy okazji wycierpiałam przez autorkę która od pierwszej strony tworzyła sobie wymówki. Nie wiem czy było to tego warte.
Chyba jednak lepszym wyborem byłaby książka Christophera Wylie - Mindf*ck (której niestety jeszcze nie czytałam).
shoshin's review against another edition
dark
informative
medium-paced
4.0
This book didn't tell me much that I didn't know, but knowing how much attention most people give to these things, it would be very informative to most people. Definitely recommend.
One refrain kept going through my head: The love of money is the root of all evil. It bears remembering.
One refrain kept going through my head: The love of money is the root of all evil. It bears remembering.
rick2's review against another edition
3.0
Pretty good. Very interesting. The Cambridge Analytica stuff is terrifying. As a book, it a good portrait of how “good people can do bad things.” But while the CA parts are riveting, I found myself getting frustrated at the blindness Brittany followed the Blockchain trend as a redemptive arc.
Blockchain is NOT the solution to privacy. Maybe in 20 years when the energy demands are lower and unforeseen magic innovations have fundamentally changed computing. But for now, in 2020, blockchain is a slow, inefficient, energy intensive way to partially solve some of this. Frankly, having a single point of failure, like a digital ledger, seems awful. It’s amazing to see so many people who dont have technical knowledge go gangbusters for blockchain. It was one of my pet peeves of 2019, and for reasons like this.
I’m not sure Brittany is the person who should be doing privacy advocacy. Business development is not technical know how. I should know, I was in biz-dev and have shifted to the engineering side of things. It’s a long painful process of filling huge gaps in your knowledge. Her technical explanations seem very Jedi-hand-wave. And it would make sense that solutions stemming from that would be wonting.
It seems that the author was looking for an easy fix to many of the privacy issues she felt were being overlooked. Blockchain represented an "out," a sort of release valve to the cognitive dissonance being felt by an idealist in a predatory work environment. The way a drowning man may cling to a chunk of flotsam to keep afloat, it does not represent the ideal flotation device, but fulfills a need in a time of crisis.
Blockchain is NOT the solution to privacy. Maybe in 20 years when the energy demands are lower and unforeseen magic innovations have fundamentally changed computing. But for now, in 2020, blockchain is a slow, inefficient, energy intensive way to partially solve some of this. Frankly, having a single point of failure, like a digital ledger, seems awful. It’s amazing to see so many people who dont have technical knowledge go gangbusters for blockchain. It was one of my pet peeves of 2019, and for reasons like this.
I’m not sure Brittany is the person who should be doing privacy advocacy. Business development is not technical know how. I should know, I was in biz-dev and have shifted to the engineering side of things. It’s a long painful process of filling huge gaps in your knowledge. Her technical explanations seem very Jedi-hand-wave. And it would make sense that solutions stemming from that would be wonting.
It seems that the author was looking for an easy fix to many of the privacy issues she felt were being overlooked. Blockchain represented an "out," a sort of release valve to the cognitive dissonance being felt by an idealist in a predatory work environment. The way a drowning man may cling to a chunk of flotsam to keep afloat, it does not represent the ideal flotation device, but fulfills a need in a time of crisis.
beth_menendez's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 Stars. The content is important to get across but in The author’s attempt at being honest, she comes across as whiney and very immature at times. I do not actually need to know that she seemed to be a functional alcoholic while she worked for CA. I want to know why what CA is a big deal and why their actions should never be repeated. Still, the topic overall is a good first step into the topic of data security.
mcarley88's review against another edition
5.0
Disclaimer: I read the physical book and accidentally selected the audio CD version on here.
When I saw that there was a second book on this topic that came out this year, I was very intrigued. I read Chris Wylie's book about a month ago, and I was shocked and appalled and it led to my refusing to post any more information on Facebook ever again. (I can't delete it, regrettably, for personal reasons) This book, to me at least, seems infinitely more credible. Not only is it a fuller account of the whole Cambridge Analytica/related groups fiasco, it also seems more plausible and less secret agent, behind the scenes, this is how the world really works. Additionally, Kaiser's criticisms of Wylie himself rang true, even considering his book and the content therein. That is not to say that I take back my recommendation of his book; you should still read it, just read this one first and take his with a grain of salt where the two accounts differ.
All of that said, this book is horrifying. The abuse of data about our personal lives should give anyone pause when considering using and posting on social media. We really need to to reconsider how much we are willing to share with the world, particularly in light of accounts that uncover those we are sharing with without even wanting to. I truly believe that there is nothing less at stake than the future of democracy in our age. Steps MUST be taken to stop the totalitarianism of big data before it is too late. Stop sharing, stop liking, relearn propriety and privacy, and maybe we may have a chance.
When I saw that there was a second book on this topic that came out this year, I was very intrigued. I read Chris Wylie's book about a month ago, and I was shocked and appalled and it led to my refusing to post any more information on Facebook ever again. (I can't delete it, regrettably, for personal reasons) This book, to me at least, seems infinitely more credible. Not only is it a fuller account of the whole Cambridge Analytica/related groups fiasco, it also seems more plausible and less secret agent, behind the scenes, this is how the world really works. Additionally, Kaiser's criticisms of Wylie himself rang true, even considering his book and the content therein. That is not to say that I take back my recommendation of his book; you should still read it, just read this one first and take his with a grain of salt where the two accounts differ.
All of that said, this book is horrifying. The abuse of data about our personal lives should give anyone pause when considering using and posting on social media. We really need to to reconsider how much we are willing to share with the world, particularly in light of accounts that uncover those we are sharing with without even wanting to. I truly believe that there is nothing less at stake than the future of democracy in our age. Steps MUST be taken to stop the totalitarianism of big data before it is too late. Stop sharing, stop liking, relearn propriety and privacy, and maybe we may have a chance.
___peg's review against another edition
4.0
This was a really insightful read - I honestly didn’t enjoy how she was portrayed in The Great Hack (Netflix, 2019), because she came across as a villain, but getting to read this from her perspective really opened my eyes to what she went through