{"product_id":"the-secret-life-of-data-isbn-9780262048811","title":"The Secret Life of Data","description":"\u003cb\u003eHow data surveillance, digital forensics, and generative AI pose new long-term threats and opportunities—and how we can use them to make better decisions in the face of technological uncertainty.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn \u003ci\u003eThe Secret Life of Data\u003c\/i\u003e, Aram Sinnreich and Jesse Gilbert explore the many unpredictable, and often surprising, ways in which data surveillance, AI, and the constant presence of algorithms impact our culture and society in the age of global networks. The authors build on this basic premise: no matter what form data takes, and what purpose we think it’s being used for, data will always have a secret life. How this data will be used, by other people in other times and places, has profound implications for every aspect of our lives—from our intimate relationships to our professional lives to our political systems.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWith the secret uses of data in mind, Sinnreich and Gilbert interview dozens of experts to explore a broad range of scenarios and contexts—from the playful to the profound to the problematic. Unlike most books about data and society that focus on the short-term effects of our immense data usage, \u003ci\u003eThe Secret Life of Data \u003c\/i\u003efocuses primarily on the long-term consequences of humanity’s recent rush toward digitizing, storing, and analyzing every piece of data about ourselves and the world we live in. The authors advocate for “slow fixes” regarding our relationship to data, such as creating new laws and regulations, ethics and aesthetics, and models of production for our data-fied society.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eCutting through the hype and hopelessness that so often inform discussions of data and society, \u003ci\u003eThe Secret Life of Data\u003c\/i\u003e clearly and straightforwardly demonstrates how readers can play an active part in shaping how digital technology influences their lives and the world at large.Contents\u003cbr\u003e Introduction ix\u003cbr\u003e 1 DATA ABOUT DATA (ABOUT DATA) 1\u003cbr\u003e 2 ALL DATA ARE BIG DATA 25\u003cbr\u003e 3 BIG DATA BLUES 55\u003cbr\u003e 4 OUR DEVICES ARE “SMART.” BUT ARE WE? 83 \u003cbr\u003e5 THE SECRET DATA OF LIFE 109\u003cbr\u003e 6 THE OVEREXAMINED LIFE 137\u003cbr\u003e 7 ALL THE WORLD’S A STACK 161\u003cbr\u003e 8 DATA AND DEMOCRACY 185\u003cbr\u003e Conclusion: Data Afterlives 213\u003cbr\u003e Acknowledgments 239\u003cbr\u003e Notes 241\u003cbr\u003e Index 271“Chock-full of examples of new visioning and computing technology . . . \u003ci\u003eThe Secret Life of Data \u003c\/i\u003eprovides a broad, nontechnical, and highly readable introduction to the intersection of data, computing technologies, and contemporary society.” \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e—CHOICE\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Sinnreich and Gilbert have written a nimble text that will be of use to a range of experts and nonexperts.” \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003eInformation \u0026amp; Culture\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"An impressively clear, direct, and public-facing intervention.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003eInternational Journal of Communication\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e“At once fascinating and terrifying, \u003cu\u003eThe Secret Life of Data \u003c\/u\u003eoffers a kaleidoscopic view of the industries and technologies that collect, mine, churn, and trade our data, and what to do about them.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—Jonathan Sterne, Professor of Culture and Technology, McGill University; author of \u003ci\u003eMP3: The Meaning of a Format\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eDiminished Faculties: A Political Phenomenology of Impairment\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e“With their concept of data’s secret life, Sinnreich and Gilbert go to the heart of the risks in today’s datafied social order. Smart, extremely well-informed, and highly recommended.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—Nick Couldry, Professor of Media, Communications and Social Theory, London School of Economics \u0026amp; Political Science\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e“I have been waiting a long time for a clearly written book that cuts through the hype and describes how data—big and small, old and new—actually operate in our lives. Neither utopian nor dystopian, \u003ci\u003eThe Secret Life of Data\u003c\/i\u003e just tells it like it is.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—Siva Vaidhyanathan, Professor of Media Studies, The University of Virginia; author of \u003ci\u003eAntisocial Media \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eThe Googlization of Everything (And Why We Should Worry)\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003eAram Sinnreich is an author, professor, and musician. He is Chair of Communication Studies at American University. His books include \u003ci\u003eMashed Up\u003c\/i\u003e,\u003ci\u003e The Piracy Crusade\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Essential Guide to Intellectual Property\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eA Second Chance for Yesterday \u003c\/i\u003e(published as R. A. Sinn).\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eJesse Gilbert is an interdisciplinary artist exploring the intersection of visual art, sound, and software design at his firm Dark Matter Media. He was the founding Chair of the Media Technology department at Woodbury University, and he has taught interactive software design at both CalArts and UC San Diego.","brand":"The MIT Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46303219056869,"sku":"NP9780262048811","price":29.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780262048811.jpg?v=1767741409","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/the-secret-life-of-data-isbn-9780262048811","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}