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alaraor's review against another edition
5.0
Wow! After such a read, I am officially blown away (or mindf*cked if you prefer!). Thoroughly terrifying yet gripping read that at times had me gaping in astonishment and/or horror.
Personal data is the new oil and it is used to make a few rich, that is something we more or less know. However, this book paints a clear picture of the disastrous consequences that misuses of data to manipulate and target populations can have in our democracies and society and gives a few really real and painful examples. This book might focus mainly on the manipulation of brits and americans but.... we are all vulnerable to manipulation. We make judgements based on the information available to us, but we are all susceptible to manipulation when our access to that information become mediated. As Wylie rightly puts it:
Personal data is the new oil and it is used to make a few rich, that is something we more or less know. However, this book paints a clear picture of the disastrous consequences that misuses of data to manipulate and target populations can have in our democracies and society and gives a few really real and painful examples. This book might focus mainly on the manipulation of brits and americans but.... we are all vulnerable to manipulation. We make judgements based on the information available to us, but we are all susceptible to manipulation when our access to that information become mediated. As Wylie rightly puts it:
"Many of us forget that what we see in our newsfeeds and our search engines is already moderated by algorithms whose sole motivation is to select what will engage us, not inform us".
stevenyenzer's review against another edition
3.0
Fascinating and disturbing, although Wylie's continuous attempt to rehabilitate his image was trying.
dddorka's review against another edition
5.0
wow, the title is accurate.
I'm truly mindf*ucked by this book.
I'm truly mindf*ucked by this book.
kwheeles's review against another edition
4.0
Excellent objective view of the impact of social media in the US (author is Canadian). Shares my view of American 'exceptionalism' preventing us from improving our society by analysis of best practices elsewhere. Most of the narrative is 5 star, portions near the end were not as central to my own interests. The early sections read like a thriller - very compelling. Author is smart and original. Compelling paragraph on Peter Thiel:
'Peter Thiel, the venture capitalist behind Facebook, Palantir, and PayPal, spoke at length about how he no longer believes “that freedom and democracy are compatible.” And in elaborating his views on technology companies, he expounded on how CEOs are the new monarchs in a techno-feudal system of governance. We just don’t call them monarchies in public, he said, because “anything that’s not democracy makes people uncomfortable.”'
Great stuff.
'Peter Thiel, the venture capitalist behind Facebook, Palantir, and PayPal, spoke at length about how he no longer believes “that freedom and democracy are compatible.” And in elaborating his views on technology companies, he expounded on how CEOs are the new monarchs in a techno-feudal system of governance. We just don’t call them monarchies in public, he said, because “anything that’s not democracy makes people uncomfortable.”'
Great stuff.
meltedcholo's review against another edition
5.0
my profile pic sums up my reaction to everything described here