A review by dgls
The Age of Surveillance Capitalism: The Fight for a Human Future at the New Frontier of Power by Shoshana Zuboff

2.0

The book falls down because its conclusions are far too absolutist - it focuses on the words of Great Men, such as CEOs and academic theorists, over the experiences of people at the receiving end of the surveillance capitalism described here. There's something serious to be written on this subject, but this is mostly extrapolation from intent, rather than empirical reportage of affect. The book claims power by asserting quite histrionic naming of the phenomena that it describes, and repeats itself endlessly. It's a shame, because it's a serious and intelligent discursion that is clearly entered into earnestly. But we really need to know less about what Eric Schmidt might have said and more the corrupting effect on those less powerful. The omissions here, such as a lack of description of the way the alt-right has managed to take advantage of YouTube's algorithms, are significant. It's unclear, also, what the writer would have us do differently. I didn't come away from the book feeling as if I'd really learned anything, or wished to pursue any of the ideas discussed any further.