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We are building the new neuro-anatomy of the human race. In the process we are destroying the human attention system, changing our idea of what it means to be human. The effect on our capacity for freedom and self-government is devastating, but not so bad for those who want to govern us. People are increasingly aware of the problem, but don't know what to do. In this talk, I explain how and why.

I will make a guarantee: Assuming we survive to tell the tale, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism has a high probability of joining the likes Adam Smith's The Wealth of Nations and Max Weber's Economy and Society as defining social-economics texts of modern times. It is not a 'quick read;' it is to be savored and re-read and discussed with colleagues and friends. No zippy one-liners from me, except to almost literally beg you to read/ingest this book -Tom Peters author of In Search of Excellence

Society is at a turning point. The heady optimism that accompanied the advent of the Internet is gone replaced by a deep unease. Technologies that were meant to liberate us have exacerbated social inequalities and stoked explosive political climates across the world. Tech companies gather our information online and sell it to the highest bidder, whether government or retailer. In this world of surveillance capitalism, profit depends not only on predicting our behaviour but modifying it too. How will this fusion of capitalism and the digital shape our values and define our future?

Shoshana Zuboff shows that we are at a critical juncture. We still have the power to decide what kind of world we want to live in, and what we decide now will shape the rest of the century. Our choices: allow technology to enrich the few and impoverish the many, or harness it and distribute its benefits.

The Age of Surveillance Capitalism is a deeply-reasoned examination of the threat of unprecedented power free from democratic oversight. As it explores this new capitalism's impact on society, politics, business, and technology, it exposes the fundamental struggles that will decide both the next chapter of capitalism and the meaning of information civilization. Most critically, it shows how we can protect ourselves and our communities ensuring we are the masters of the digital rather than its slaves.

Head_on_a_Stick wrote:The video's a bit long, is there a précis somewhere?

oswaldkelso wrote:Maybe enlightenment will come to me.