The Atomic Human

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The Age of Surveillance Capitalism: The Fight for a Human Future at the New Frontier of Power

Author: Shoshana Zuboff

Year: 2019

Summary

Machine Summary

Zuboff coins the term “surveillance capitalism” to describe how tech companies extract and commodify personal data, creating new forms of social control and market manipulation. She argues this represents a fundamental threat to human nature and democracy.

In The Atomic Human, Zuboff’s work informs discussions of System Zero and digital oligarchy, particularly in Chapters 8 and 10. Her analysis of how personal data is exploited aligns with Lawrence’s concerns about automated decision-making systems that operate below human consciousness, manipulating behavior through vast data collection and processing.