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opal360's review against another edition
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
4.25
A really informative read, and some of the case studies are heartbreaking. I felt the writer overused the phrase "digital poorhouse" but that's a minor criticism of an important book.
ncrozier's review against another edition
3.0
This book didn't quite end up being what I was hoping for. The author focused on three specific examples where it felt like there could have been room for more, and while I think the arguments are probably quite strong, she didn't make them in a way that was super convincing
chloj_805's review against another edition
5.0
I put off reading this for 3 years because I thought it would make me angry. It did.
manaledi's review against another edition
4.0
This is what I want out of mass-market academic non-fiction - I learned in depth about a topic I'd only thought about perfunctorily, it made me think and reassess some of my own assumptions, and it was readable. The presentation of the "digital poorhouse" and the way that algorithms and high tech surveillance tools across healthcare, housing, and child welfare helped bring home the dark side of tech "solutions."
If you're interested in this intersection of poverty/tech/inequality, I'd also recommend: [b:Algorithms of Oppression: How Search Engines Reinforce Racism|34762552|Algorithms of Oppression How Search Engines Reinforce Racism|Safiya Umoja Noble|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1492944248l/34762552._SX50_.jpg|55962260] and [b:Not a Crime to Be Poor: The Criminalization of Poverty in America|34196061|Not a Crime to Be Poor The Criminalization of Poverty in America|Peter Edelman|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1501512809l/34196061._SX50_.jpg|55233029].
If you're interested in this intersection of poverty/tech/inequality, I'd also recommend: [b:Algorithms of Oppression: How Search Engines Reinforce Racism|34762552|Algorithms of Oppression How Search Engines Reinforce Racism|Safiya Umoja Noble|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1492944248l/34762552._SX50_.jpg|55962260] and [b:Not a Crime to Be Poor: The Criminalization of Poverty in America|34196061|Not a Crime to Be Poor The Criminalization of Poverty in America|Peter Edelman|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1501512809l/34196061._SX50_.jpg|55233029].
amber_lea84's review against another edition
4.0
This one is hard to rate because it's not perfect. For starters, I would have liked more data and less anecdote. On top of that, it was at times a bit rambley and repetitive. I also think the author called her own credibility into question by opening with an anecdote about how her insurance got cut off and it's because she was flagged for health-care fraud by an automated system. Then she revealed that she doesn't actually know if she was flagged for fraud, she just assumes. Uhh. Probably should have scrapped that anecdote since it's based on a theory. Then she brings it up again toward the end, speaking with total certainty like it for sure happened. Bruv, you said before that you didn't know that it was true.
BUT she still makes a good argument for how the poor shouldn't be treated worse than the middle class simply because they're poor. I completely agree we should protect the privacy, agency, and self-determination of the poor just like we would anyone else, and that in some ways we make things significantly worse for the poor under the guise of "helping". And there's too much focus within different assistance programs on rooting out the undeserving at the expense of people who legitimately need help. I would say most of her points are good? Some of her points about data and technology were suspect to me, but I can't speak to anything being factually incorrect. I just suspect that, like her anecdote about being flagged for fraud, she is maybe jumping to some conclusions. At best my skepticism speaks to her making her points poorly. There were a handful of times where she threw something out there without backing it up, leaving me to decide it if it was worth it for me to look it up and all she needed to do was add like two more sentences to explain.
But I still agree with her larger over arching conclusions even if I don't completely trust her evidence. Honestly, I would probably knock this down more stars, but I'm just really passionate about the idea that the poor deserve their autonomy. I feel like that was really the main point of this book. This book is really about how we should respect the freedom of the poor, not use technology to police them as if they're criminals, and give everyone UBI. I wouldn't give this book to anyone to try to convince them of those points, but I might pull arguments from this book.
BUT she still makes a good argument for how the poor shouldn't be treated worse than the middle class simply because they're poor. I completely agree we should protect the privacy, agency, and self-determination of the poor just like we would anyone else, and that in some ways we make things significantly worse for the poor under the guise of "helping". And there's too much focus within different assistance programs on rooting out the undeserving at the expense of people who legitimately need help. I would say most of her points are good? Some of her points about data and technology were suspect to me, but I can't speak to anything being factually incorrect. I just suspect that, like her anecdote about being flagged for fraud, she is maybe jumping to some conclusions. At best my skepticism speaks to her making her points poorly. There were a handful of times where she threw something out there without backing it up, leaving me to decide it if it was worth it for me to look it up and all she needed to do was add like two more sentences to explain.
But I still agree with her larger over arching conclusions even if I don't completely trust her evidence. Honestly, I would probably knock this down more stars, but I'm just really passionate about the idea that the poor deserve their autonomy. I feel like that was really the main point of this book. This book is really about how we should respect the freedom of the poor, not use technology to police them as if they're criminals, and give everyone UBI. I wouldn't give this book to anyone to try to convince them of those points, but I might pull arguments from this book.