Everyday Data Cultures

The AI revolution can seem powerful and unstoppable, extracting data from every aspect of our lives and subjecting us to unprecedented surveillance and control. But at ground level, even the most advanced ‘smart’ technologies are not as all-powerful as either the tech companies or their critics would have us believe.

From gig worker activism to wellness tracking with sex toys and TikTokers' manipulation of the algorithm, this book shows how ordinary people are negotiating the datafication of society. The book establishes a new theoretical framework for understanding everyday experiences of data and automation, and offers guidance on the ethical responsibilities we share as we learn to live together with data-driven machines.

Everyday Data Cultures is essential reading for students and researchers in digital media and communication, as well as for anyone interested in the role of data and AI in society.

Acknowledgements



1. Introduction

2. The Everyday Data Cultures Framework

3. Everyday Data Intimacies

4. Everyday Data Literacies

5. Everyday Data Publics

6. Conclusion



Notes

References

Index

"This is a great book. The bottom up, everyday approach to the datafication of culture and society that it takes is much needed. Its diverse examples powerfully illuminate the myriad ways in which everyday life is increasingly cut through by data."
—Helen Kennedy, University of Sheffield

"There is no better or more comprehensive look at what datafication means and at its consequences than Everyday Data Cultures. The book's masterful critical analysis provides not only an understanding of datafication but alternatives to the commercialization of data and options to reclaim it as a public good."
—Steve Jones, University of Illinois Chicago

Jean Burgess is Professor of Digital Media at Queensland University of Technology.
Kath Albury is Professor of Media and Communication at Swinburne University of Technology.
Anthony McCosker is Professor of Media and Communication at Swinburne University of Technology.
Rowan Wilken is Principal Research Fellow in the School of Media and Communication at RMIT University.