The Atomic Human

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The Information Barons Threaten Our Autonomy and Privacy

This archive documents an early warning about the risks of digital feudalism and data control, published in The Guardian. The article draws parallels between medieval power structures and modern tech companies, advocating for a “digital enlightenment” to protect individual data rights and autonomy.

Original article in The Guardian

Article Analysis and Historical Context

The article appeared in late 2015 during a period of major data breaches in the UK, including TalkTalk and Carphone Warehouse. It made several key arguments:

  1. Data Control and Power
    • Drew parallels between medieval feudal structures and modern tech companies
    • Warned about emergence of “digital serfdom” through corporate data control
    • Advocated for individual control over personal data
  2. Types of Data and Rights
    • Distinguished between public “information commons” (like Wikipedia) and private personal data
    • Emphasized data protection as protecting people, not just information
    • Called for recognition of individual data rights
  3. Predictions and Outcomes Many of the article’s warnings proved prescient:
    • Data breaches continued and escalated (e.g., Equifax 2017, Facebook/Cambridge Analytica 2018)
    • Tech company power over personal data grew substantially
    • Behavioral prediction and control through data became more sophisticated
    • The need for stronger data protection became widely recognized (leading to GDPR in 2018)

However, some aspects developed differently:

  • The term “surveillance capitalism” emerged as a more widely adopted framing than “digital feudalism”, though both describe similar power dynamics of data control
  • Individual control over personal data remains limited despite regulatory efforts
  • The “digital enlightenment” called for hasn’t yet materialized

Connections to The Atomic Human

The article’s themes resonate with several key ideas developed in the book:

  1. Power Structures and Control
    • The medieval feudalism metaphor connects to the book’s exploration of how power operates through technological systems
    • Early articulation of concerns about prediction and control that develop into the book’s concept of “System Zero”
    • Warns about concentration of power that the book later examines through multiple historical lenses
  2. Personal Data and Privacy
    • Introduces distinction between public and private data that the book explores more deeply
    • Raises questions about individual agency that become central to the book’s analysis
    • Highlights vulnerability of personal data that the book examines through multiple case studies
  3. Institutional Responses
    • Article calls for a “digital enlightenment” to protect individual rights
    • Book develops this theme further by examining various institutional approaches to maintaining human agency in technological systems
    • Both emphasize need for systemic rather than just technical solutions

The article represents an early warning about data control and human agency that The Atomic Human would later explore in much greater depth, showing how these concerns evolved from specific issues around data privacy to broader questions about human autonomy in technological systems.

Click to see what the machine says about the archive and the book