SOCIAL SCIENCES

Automating Inequality: How High-Tech Tools Profile, Police, and Punish the Poor

by Virginia Eubanks
St. Martin's. Jan. 2018. 272p. notes. bibliog. index. ISBN 9781250074317. $26.99; ebk. ISBN 9781466885967. POL SCI
COPY ISBN
Using story after devastating story, Eubanks (women's studies; Univ. at Albany, State Univ. of New York; Digital Dead End: Fighting for Social Justice in the Information Age) provides a tour of the algorithms, data mining practices, and predictive risk models that increasingly (and often arbitrarily) target poor and working-class Americans for scrutiny and punishment. Big data systems (often operated for profit by the private sector) are sold to local governments as neutral, efficient replacements for human decision-makers but have the effect of diverting services from and criminalizing the poor. Eubanks's advocacy for the Americans impacted by this trend is passionate and matched by incisive analysis and bolstered by impressive research.
VERDICT An important contribution to the growing literature sounding the alarm on the consequences of automating social policy and the dangers of big data. Eubanks's writing is clear and approachable and her use of narrative will appeal to general readers while being essential for policymakers and academics.
Reviewed by Rachel Bridgewater, Portland Community Coll. Lib., OR , Feb 01, 2018
Comment Policy:
  • Be respectful, and do not attack the author, people mentioned in the article, or other commenters. Take on the idea, not the messenger.
  • Don't use obscene, profane, or vulgar language.
  • Stay on point. Comments that stray from the topic at hand may be deleted.
  • Comments may be republished in print, online, or other forms of media.
  • If you see something objectionable, please let us know. Once a comment has been flagged, a staff member will investigate.

RELATED 

NONFICTION

Putin and the Return of History: How the Kremlin Rekindled the Cold War
by Sixsmith, Martin
NONFICTION

Belonging Without Othering: How We Save Ourselves and the World
by Powell, John A. & Stephen Menendian
NONFICTION

Trippy: The Peril and Promise of Medicinal Psychedelics
by Londoño, Ernesto
NONFICTION

1217: The Battles That Saved England
by Hanley, Catherine
NONFICTION

Women Money Power: The Rise and Fall of Economic Equality
by Cox, Josie
NONFICTION

The War That Made America: Essays Inspired by the Scholarship of Gary W. Gallagher
More
ALREADY A SUBSCRIBER?

We are currently offering this content for free. Sign up now to activate your personal profile, where you can save articles for future viewing

ALREADY A SUBSCRIBER?